Talks moving toward initial agreement between MoE, GTU – Pres. Ali

The government is moving closer to reaching an initial agreement with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) on conditions that would end the ongoing strike by some teachers. 

This is according to President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali who underscored that progress is being made toward reaching a preliminary agreement while responding to a question posed by the media at his press conference at State House on Thursday.

President Ali noted that there have been numerous conversations relating to the resumption of work and the concerns raised by teachers.

And so, President Ali explained, “…From the most recent feedback I have received, there seems to be some movement in relation to getting to an initial agreement on terms that would see the situation resumed to some amount of normalcy.”

The strike by some teachers started on February 5. It surrounds a proposal for an increase in wages and salaries along with other interventions.

The government has highlighted that it is fully prepared to work on a multi-year agreement from 2024 with teachers. 

To this end, the head of state stressed that the government will continue to prioritise the wellbeing and needs of teachers, students and parents.

As part of its continuous developmental ambitions, the government is heavily investing in the education sector to execute numerous policies and programmes.

Additionally, the president stated that students will have greater access to educational opportunities.

“We are committed to ensuring that they have fair treatment. We are committed to ensuring that their welfare and lives in totality improve as our country continues to improve,” he vowed.

He continued, “And our priorities [are] to ensure that our children will not suffer or the teachers. And that is why we are investing in giving our teachers the best infrastructural conditions to work in, supporting their career development and supporting their personal aspirations for education and becoming trained.”

As the world continues to transform digitally, the government is looking to establish its first digital school shortly in the country.

President Ali pointed out, “Continuous learning will be heavily influenced by technology. We said that we want to have the most skilled population. The most skilled population must allow every citizen, those who dropped out of school, and those who didn’t have the opportunity to go to school to be in an environment of learning…”