The Ministry of Education’s Unit of Allied Arts says that no request has been received from the Rights of the Child Commission (RCC) for information on the exclusion of two children from the recent children’s Mashramani contest.
In a statement yesterday, the ministry was responding to a report in the March 27th edition of Stabroek News which said that RCC’s Chief Executive Officer, Andre Gonsalves had stated that the commission has been in touch with the Allied Arts Unit of the Ministry and was awaiting some key information from the relevant authorities there
In the statement, the ministry said: “So far no request for information has been received from the Rights of the Child Com-mission. It is important to emphasize that the Unit of Allied Arts welcomes any requests from statutory bodies such as the Rights of the Child Commission. However, we were unaware of any investigation into this matter until it was brought to our attention through a news article titled `Rights commission awaiting info on exclusion of children from Mash contests’ published by Stabroek News. While we take note of this article, it is surprising that such a publication was made without any formal requests being directed to the Unit of Allied Arts either by the ROC or the Stabroek News”.
The ministry said that on Friday last, an unidentified person who refused to provide any form of identification visited the Unit of Allied Arts’ office located in the Queen’s College Compound. At the time, all senior officers were in the fields on official duties and as such, the person was provided with a telephone number for the office to make contact later.
“To date, no contact has been made with the Unit nor has any official request (been ) made for information regarding the Children’s Mashramani Calypso Competition. It should be noted that the rules which govern the Children’s Mashramani Calypso Competition have been in place for more than 30 years. We remain committed to transparency and cooperation with all relevant authorities and look forward to any formal communication from the Rights of the Child Commission regarding this matter”, the ministry said.
After being allowed to contest several rounds of the competition, 6-year-old Ezeka Minty was disqualified in what has been seen as censorship and a clear violation of the child’s rights under the United Nations Rights of the Child Convention. The disqualification of the child has also been seen as reflecting the government’s intolerance of anything remotely critical even from a child.
A poem which was supposed to be performed by schoolchild Zoriah Martindale was also rejected. The poem was titled “Dear Minister” and dealt with a teacher’s working conditions.
The Allied Arts Unit had defended the decision to disqualify the two children.
“The Allied Arts Unit emphasizes that decisions made are based on established rules that have been in place for many years, specifically focusing on the appropriateness of items in relation to age groups. Two items were rejected, and the respective schools were duly advised with transparent communication on the reasons behind the decisions.
“The Allied Arts Unit asserts its unwavering commitment to positions of respect, civility, values, ethics, morals, and standards. The focus is on ensuring that the content presented aligns with the age appropriateness stipulated by the rules set well in advance of the competition. It is crucial to highlight that the intention is not to censor satirical content but to maintain age-appropriate standards and to teach commence with rules in line with the longstanding principles upheld by individuals associated with the competition”, a release from the Unit said on February 14.
When questioned as to why the officials waited until Ezika arrived at the highest level to be embarrassingly disqualified, Head of the Allied Arts Unit of the Ministry of Education, Nicholas Fraser told Stabroek News on February 15 that the region was at fault for letting it pass through their hands. He noted that he issued a letter to said region to explain the unfortunate situation so that it would not transpire again.
One of the guidelines found in the rules booklet states, that “The lyrics of the calypso MUST be submitted to the Unit of Allied Arts along with the Entry Forms”.
On February 15, Fraser declined to give further information apart from that in the press release issued by the unit. However, he referenced rule 10 of the Children’s Mash Booklet which states, “The calypso can be based on any topic excluding Politics and Religion”.
According to several sources close to the ministry and who would have worked on different occasions at the Children’s Costume Competition, there have been instances where political entries were overlooked. These sources surmised that this time the calypso entry was not permitted given the then unrest with teachers across Guyana over their salaries.
