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Govt. mulls giving parents $700,000 voucher to send children to private schools
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
…as teachers’ strike continues
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana is considering providing parents a $700,000 voucher for them to send their children to private schools, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed on Thursday during a press conference held at the Office of the President.
In response to a question on whether the government is concerned about learning loss in the public education sector due to the ongoing teachers’ strike. He disclosed that the government is examining several models for the future.
“Yes, of course we are very concerned, we think it’s unreasonable,” before adding, “So the thing is that at some point in time, we are starting to work on several models”.
One of those models Jagdeo referenced is the provision of the vouchers to parents to send their children to private schools.
“Secondly, in the future, we have to examine whether we will give parents a voucher to send their children to a private school or not because if we are spending $700,000 now per child and it cost $300,000 to pay for the school fees for the child, we might as well give in some areas the parents the $700,000 per child and let them pay for the school kids,” the Vice President said.
He added too that the model will also provide more opportunities for private schools.
Another model, the Vice President pointed to is the “E-school model” (online learning).
Teachers protesting for better salaries and allowances
“…As I said before, maybe in the future if we have a proper school model then parents can choose that rather than physical school,” Jagdeo told reporters.
He noted that in order for this model to work, children must be able to receive the same level of tuition and have the same level of successes as if they are attending a physical school.
He said too that his government is not going to compromise when it comes to providing students with high quality education.
“You can’t be teaching our children anymore with two subjects CXC (CSEC), in the past we may have accommodated that,” the VP said.
In moving towards a high-class education, Jagdeo said that the government will also provide opportunities for teachers to upgrade their education.
“We are gonna pay for your scholarship but you have to study if you are in the environment because we want better quality teachers,” Jagdeo told reporters before adding that teachers can earn more with degrees.
“You start getting higher allowances and that’s where we will focus the increases, to the most qualified teachers,” the VP explained.
Meanwhile, discussions on higher salaries for teachers between the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and the Labour Ministry are scheduled to reconvene on Monday, June 10.
“We are working on a way forward…We have reached out because we believe that this situation must not go on forever – that through dialogue, mature, responsible people can mend their differences,” President of the GTU, Dr. Lyte said on Tuesday.
However, he noted that “until the favourable terms of resumption are signed, the strike will continue.” The GTU President further reiterated that there could be no way forward on the process until the terms of resumption are satisfactory to the union.
“My concern as leader of the Teachers’ Union is that we are unable to survive on the package that we currently have…The union won’t compromise further. Our position remains the same. We will continue to have our voices raised,” Lyte said.
The GTU has said it wants the Government to put up a counter proposal to theirs as they seek to bring an end to the over 50-day strike action for better salaries. They said too that they are prepared to amend their multi-year agreement proposal from 2019-2023 to 2022-2025.
The government has said that it will not negotiate under duress.
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