Education Minister and team open three-day Region Nine visit

…malignant sore at Annai Secondary high on agenda…

THERE IS NO END in sight over long-running issues affecting teachers at Annai Secondary
School and they hope that Education Minister, Ms. Priya Manickchand’s three-day visit which
begins today will provide a resolution.
Deteriorating relationships among the school’s HM, teachers and their charges and scores of
residents in Upper Takutu/ Upper Essequibo (Region Nine) have forced some educators to
threaten resignation and other pledging to seek transfer to escape the toxic environment at Annai
Secondary.
Chairman of the Region’s Education Committee and Regional Vice Chairman, Bertie Xavier
confirmed that in fact, the situation has gotten worst.
“We have not been able to have the matter properly addressed because there is no DEO (District
Education Officer) for that section of the Region and the Education Department is working to
have a DEO in place to address this and other issues. However, the matter has gotten worst, and
we are afraid that if it’s not addressed shortly the Region will suffer greatly,” Xavier warned.
Xavier, an educator by profession, and a former teacher at Annai Secondary, understands the
teachers and community’s frustrations. He relived the victimisation he endured under HM Ms.
Sharmaine David for seven years. Teachers and residents look forward to Manickchand’s visit
and swift action taken to help end the long-standing tiff among the parties.
“I think this situation has gotten worst and with the visit of Minister Priya Manickchand and
others I am hoping that it would be one of the issues that is addressed by the Minister. There are
serious issues at that school, and it has to be addressed urgently,” he said.
David is widely perceived as an impediment to the growth of students and a roadblock to the
development of teachers at Annai Secondary in the largest geographical region of the country.
“We have a very serious problem here at Annai Secondary, it is our main educational institution
in Annai with students from the satellite villages and around the community attending. The

issues with the Head teacher and her staff have reached boiling point and several of the teachers
are determined and firm that they no longer want to work with her (head teacher) anymore,”
Xavier told www.aroundtheregions.com in an earlier interview.
He said Prime Minister, Brigadier (ret’d) Mr. Mark Phillips; Local and Regional Development
Minister, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall and Mr. Anand Persaud, Minister within the Local and Regional
Development Ministry will accompany Manickchand on the three-day visit.