Police are investigating the shooting death of Adviser to the Minister of Education, Olato Sam, age 53, of Lot 2811 Youth Place South Ruimveldt Park, Georgetown, which occurred at around 00:30 hrs this morning in the vicinity of Gold Rush Bar located at Plaisance Railway Embankment, East Coast Demerara.
Enquiries, the police say, disclosed that around 23:15 hrs last night, Sam went to the Gold Rush Bar, where he met three of his friends, and while there, they consumed a few drinks outside the bar.
At about 12:10 hrs this morning, a fight broke out between two men on the opposite sides of the bar. Two loud explosions, which sounded like gunshots, were heard from the direction of the two men.
A few seconds later, Sam fell on the ground, and his friends rendered assistance and took him to the GPHC, where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a Doctor on duty. The body was examined and what appeared to be a gunshot wound was seen to the upper left side of his chest.
The body is presently lying at the GPHC’s mortuary, awaiting a post-mortem examination.
The two men who were involved in the fight were both arrested and are presently in Police custody.
The Ministry of Education issued the following statement this morning
It is with deep sadness that the Education Family learned of the death of Dr. Olato Sam who up to the time of his passing served as Education Specialist within the Ministry of Education. He also served as Chief Education Officer from 2011 to 2016.
The Honourable Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and the staff of the Ministry of Education extend sincerest condolences to Dr. Sam’s wife, family, friends, colleagues and the entire education fraternity.
During his years in the sector, Dr. Sam demonstrated success in programme management while keeping abreast of educational innovations. He was a superb team player and motivator who used a developmental approach to enhancing educational outcomes.
During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Sam provided leadership to the professional arm of the Ministry and devised education policies in collaboration with the Minister of Education, Education Officers and other stakeholders. He offered technical advice for the efficient implementation of educational policy at all learning institutions covered by the Ministry of Education and represented the Ministry’s interests in several regional and global fora.
Dr. Sam also lectured at the University of Guyana in the Masters in Education and Bachelors in Education programmes. He has served as Chairman of the Guyana School of Agriculture; Commissioner on the Teaching Service Commission, Guyana; a member of the Caribbean Examinations Council’s Final Awards Committee; Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Cyril Potter College of Education; member of the CARICOM Taskforce on Teacher Education and Training and as a member of the CARICOM Task Force on the Establishment of Teaching Councils.
As Education Specialist Dr. Sam has worked on several initiatives of the Ministry of Education. Most recently, he was working on preparing a plan to address violence in schools.
