Regional Education Officer (REdO) of Region One (Barima-Waini) Chiveon Bovell-Success has distanced herself from the hiring of several sweeper-cleaners attached to schools within the Moruca Sub-Region after Regional Chairman Brentnol Ashley said proper protocols were not followed.
On Saturday, Stabroek News reported that six head teachers within the Moruca district were ordered to “send home” sweeper-cleaners from their respective schools. The sweeper-cleaners were reportedly not paid for a number of months and were sent home without any information as to when they will be paid.
The schools that the sweeper-cleaners were sent home from were identified as Santa Rosa Secondary, Karaburi Pri-mary, St Nicholas Primary, Warapoka Primary, Kamwatta Primary and Kwebanna Primary.
Regional Chair Ashley told this newspaper that the sweeper-cleaners were not dismissed. Instead, he said, a temporary hold was placed on their employment after it was discovered that proper protocols were not followed in their hiring.
“What the REDO did was to instruct the cleaners to start working without any approval from the Regional Administration and as such they were not added to the payroll. We were not even aware that they were working so when we became aware we started to put systems in place. We are working to ensure that they get paid and we have a proper employment structure for them to have them on the job,” he said during an interview with Stabroek News.
However, the REdO is now calling on the Regional Chair to clarify his statements since she claims to have no knowledge of hiring anyone.
Bovell-Success said that she took over as REdO on January 27, 2022 and the sweeper-cleaners were already employed with the Region.
“I would never hire anybody without going through the proper protocols. When I took over in the Region the sweeper-cleaners were already on the job so it is unfair for the Regional Chairman not to distinguish that. I need to clear my name because I did not hire any sweeper-cleaners without going through the proper channels,” she said in a brief comment to Stabroek New.
The REdO said that she is hoping that the Regional Chairman would provide the name of the REdO that hired the sweeper-cleaners without going through the right channels.
Efforts to contact Ashley for clarification was unsuccessful.
