Cleveland Thomas, a Christianburg head teacher who refused to promote low achievers in his secondary school was summoned to appear before the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) yesterday sparking protests by parents who support his stand.
Following yesterday’s meeting in Georgetown, the TSC is to write to him setting out its position on the matter.
“Sir Thomas is saying that, I will take a stand and whatever the consequences I will pay the consequences.” That was the emphatic statement made by Thomas, head teacher of the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School as he took a stand against the Ministry of Education’s `No child left behind’ policy.
The summoning of Thomas to appear before the TSC was passed on to the Parent-Teachers Association of the school and its members decided that they would show their support for his stand.
Four busloads of parents travelled from Linden to Georgetown where they staged a peaceful picket at the TSC while he attended the meeting. They carried placards which read among others, “Work for your promotion we do not support incurred ignorance”, “Is this a way to solicit for private schools”, “Today we are forced to fight the Ministry of Education, Guyana where are we heading.”
Thomas said that he was summoned to a meeting with the disciplinary committee of the TSC, a forum where he was able to table his views on automatic promotion after he refused to comply. The policy says that there should not be retention of any student from nursery to secondary school. Thomas said that in his estimation the policy has to be modified. His rationale was that at the CWSS there are a number of students who cannot read or write. “They cannot even read or write how we can promote such a student when they haven’t even mastered basic things that are taught at the primary school level.”
He said that there were some children who were promoted because they had shown some level of improvement but there were some whose performance was atrocious, scoring as low as 15%. “How can you actually promote such persons?” Some of those promoted had participated in the summer programme and had shown some level of improvement.
The head teacher’s stand was supported even at the Linden level. Hundreds of students of the CWSS and parents took to the streets in support of Thomas’ stand. They marched from the CWSS School at Blue Berry Hill onto Burnham Drive. While in the vicinity of Silvertown, Wismar, they were intercepted by a team of police officers who attempted to stop the protest. According to ranks the protest was not authorized. Determined to continue their demonstration they flooded the five ferry boat landings and took to the streets at Mackenzie converging at the Department of Education, Region 10. They sang and chanted calling on the ministry to revisit the policy and not to penalize Thomas for the position he had taken. “We shall overcome” they sang. “No Thomo No School,” they chanted.
Acting Chairman of the Regional Parent-Teachers Association Body (RPTAB) of Region 10 Jeffery Gill attempted to disband the crowd advising parents to have their children return to school or home. He told them that at the time Thomas was attending the meeting with the TSC and all the senior Department of Education Region 10 officers were out of the district. “I spoke with the Regional Chairman and he will be having a meeting with the regional PTA body to discuss the issue and the way forward,” said Gill. This was not taken well by the students and parents who decided at that point they were going to take their demonstration to the RDC where they were loud in their calls for the Regional Chairman to address the matter.
The protestors were further aggravated when they learnt that two busloads of parents were held up by police along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. Stabroek News learnt that it appeared to have been a deliberate act to foil the Georgetown leg of the protest. Upon their return parents said that because of their determination they hiked rides from a bush truck, tractors and horse carts to get to the Timehri junction where they joined regular public buses to Georgetown. “They hadn’t anything to charge de drivers with so dey measure one of the bus wheel with dey finger and said it was too broad and they look at the number plate on the big bus and said it was too small and they holding them till two ah clock,” explained a parent on returning to Linden.
Region 10 Chairman Mortimer Mingo in solidarity with the protestors said that he was personally against the promotion policy but because of the seat he holds he was compelled to comply with the laws and policies of the country. He however hastened to say that from the outset the RDC had pronounced on the policy. “The RDC stands committed to see an amicable resolution to this issue where so far as Sir Thomas is concerned. He is one of our better or our best teacher in this region,” Mingo said, adding that the RDC would not stand idly by and allow anything to jeopardize the future of the region’s children.
Questioned about the RDC’s stand being relayed to the heads of schools and their respective PTAs, Mingo in his defence said Regional Education Officer Claude Johnson, who is the secretary of the committee, was expected to relay the information to the various head teachers and in like manner the President of the RPTAB should have done the same to the various PTAs. “It was further discussed at the level of the regional education committee and further discussed at the statutory meeting of the council of the RDC and the council have made it very clear that we are concerned with the decision … taken by the Ministry of Education.”
He explained that if teachers failed to comply with the policy, they can find themselves in an awkward position. “All I am saying is it has to be done in a structured and orderly way, that’s all I am saying.”
An emergency meeting of the Regional Education Committee was called yesterday afternoon and attended also by the RPTAB. It was decided that attempts were to be made for a meeting of the executives of all the PTA bodies in Linden where their next move would be discussed. The outcome of this meeting remained unknown up to press time. Stabroek News understands that at a previous meeting of the PTAs, 90% of the schools’ heads had expressed their disapproval of the policy.
Students of the CWSS and parents said that they would not be returning to school unless they are satisfied that HM Thomas is not penalized in any way for the stand he has taken.
