Ministry of Education to raise awareness on sexual misconduct

DPI, GUYANA, Wednesday, November 22, 2017

As the Ministry of Education investigates allegations of sexual misconduct by a teacher at a leading secondary school, Minister Nicolette Henry said there is a need for more awareness on the issue in schools.

Today, the Minister said she is to be briefed by the Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson on the incident. “There are rules in place for misconduct, as it were on the part of the teacher and the Chief Education Officer would be briefing me later on in the day as to what course of action they will be taking against the individual,” she said.

Minister Henry has committed to making public the findings of the investigation into the allegations which were first reported by Cultural Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Education, Ruel Johnson.

The scandal which has garnered national interest has also raised the need for awareness of sexual misconduct and harassment in schools, particularly among school children Minister Henry pointed out. “We will have to ensure they are aware how to report, what to accept what not to accept, these are part of the teaching that should accompany mainstream and academic education. The Ministry is very interested in executing that.”

The Minister is hopeful that the introduction of mobile psychosocial services next year will provide an outlet for reporting by students and address what she noted is a gap in the education system.

 

By: Tiffny Rhodius

 

 

For more photos, click on the link to the DPI’s Flickr Page

https://www.flickr.com/photos/142936155@N03/