Dear Editor, This upcoming 36th biennial Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) conference is going to be most critical. It will address some very burning issues, some of them not that comfortable at all – issues such as violence against teachers, increased wages, and marking of school based assessments will be foremost on the agenda. The School Based Assessment (SBA) needs a lot of work. The idea is most wonderful, but its implementation, as of yet, leaves a lot to be desired. I know of many teachers who charge a fee,…
Read MoreYear: 2013
Orlando community held vigil for Guyanese shooting victim
Dear Editor, I visited Orlando to show solidarity with the family of the shooting victim Eric Roopnarine, who was brutally murdered two weeks ago. Several dozen friends of Eric held a candle light vigil to remember him and to pay tribute to him on Wednesday, July 17. Eric was violently robbed and murdered at his home in the quiet section of Poinciana. Several Guyanese turned up for the vigil to pay their regards to the young man who was brutally murdered. Eric was fatally shot and stabbed in the wee…
Read MoreU. S. military cadets graduate from jungle survival training in Guyana
Thirty-five U. S. military cadets graduated from a training phase at the Colonel Robert Mitchell Jungle and Amphibious Training School (CRMJATS). According to a U. S. embassy release, under the guidance of the CRMJATS leadership, the cadets received training and familiarisation on a broad range of survival skills. This training phase culminated with a 48-hour exercise that tested the cadets’ mental fortitude, personal courage, and newly acquired skill sets. These cadets had previously completed joint training with the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) cadets at the Colonel John Clarke Military School…
Read MoreUsing our resources
It’s the holidays: most of us are off having fun, trying to unwind after a tough year at school. None of us are really thinking about school work, textbooks, or assignments. Most of us wait to do our holiday assignments the week before school reopens anyway. Some of us may have already received our reports from last year while the rest of us are still waiting for ours. CSEC and CAPE students are expecting their results early next month. Based on our results we’ll either be allowed to move forward…
Read MorePreliminary works on Rodney inquiry underway
As preliminary work begins for a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the assassination of political activist and historian Dr Walter Rodney, the Family Court has been identified as the headquarters. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, who made the announcement at a post-Cabinet media briefing Wednesday, said funds will be appropriated for the resources the commission needs to carry out its mandate. “Such activities include the collection of data from the variety of sources that have historically been involved in review and judicial revises in some cases, parliamentary…
Read MorePPP/C wants local gov’t elections – Ramotar
President Donald Ramotar said it not the lack of political will on the part of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/ C) administration that local government elections were not held in Guyana since 1994, as he expressed hope for the passage of the four bills that are currently pending in the National Assembly. On Monday, the president said in an interview that despite talks of transparency and compromise by the parliamentary opposition, they have been showing an extraordinary level of inflexibility and are now attempting to change many of the…
Read MorePolitical opposition or obstruction? – a perspective by Harry Gill (Part 1)
The former British prime minister, the great Sir Winston Churchill once said, “The duty of the opposition is to oppose.” There is no doubt that to oppose is part of keeping the administration accountable for its actions. Ensuring checks and balances is fundamental to democracy. The opposition’s main role is to expose weaknesses in government policies and remain a vigilant watchdog over the action and inaction of the government by playing the oversight role: ensuring that the actions of government are in the best interest of the people. The two…
Read MoreMore tourist arrivals expected in Guyana during July-August season
Guyana is anticipated to surpass tourists’ influx into the country for the July-August season compared to last year, despite the exit of Delta Airlines. During an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International, Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) Director Indranauth Haralsingh said the highest number of tourists was recorded in July last year as the country received 24,000 visitors while in August that year, the number was 22,000 visitors. “This year, because of the Limacol CPL and other planned activities such as Jamzone and celebrity artistes coming to Guyana, we are looking…
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Disaster Risk Management – Early Detection
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) natural disaster risk management specialist, Dr Cassandra Rogers said Caribbean governments have traditionally placed tremendous emphasis on disaster response, rather than early identification and risk detection. She explained that the IDB has developed a Risk Management Index (RMI), which measures the performance of countries in terms of their progress in disaster risk management. According to Dr Rogers, this was highlighted in data from a 2010 study on the RMI, which revealed the placement of 23 of 26 countries, which have a borrowing relationship with the bank,…
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