President does not meet with protesting teachers

The protesting teachers who are members of the Alliance for Teachers in Suriname (ALS) and the Teachers’ Union (BvL) on Wednesday marched from Theater Unique to the Presidential Palace as they wanted to meet with President Desi Bouterse. Neither the president nor a representative of the Office of the President talked to them. Union Chairman Wilgo Valies pointed out that it is clear that the government does not want to listen to the just demands of the teachers. “We did not get that little bit of respect that we had expected from the president,” said the union chairman who added that the strike would continue. The teachers have made it clear that they do not want the revaluation to be postponed. “Revaluation now!” said the protestors as they stood outside the Presidential Palace on Wednesday. The teachers also want the government to work towards the implementation with their help. The teachers’ unions and the government last year agreed that the revaluation would start in January. The teachers also want the minister of Education to treat teachers with respect and to leave the teachers from OS Uitkijk alone. The minister has reportedly threatened to fire the teachers from that public elementary school because they disagree with the ministry’s decision to let an outsider run the school as the new principal. The teachers have also made it clear that they want the teachers who were transferred from the AR Leeuwinschool to another school to be reassigned to their former workplace.

Valies pointed out that all of the nation’s the teachers are supporting the union. “Teachers are not begging for things that they are entitled to but they are demanding them,” said Valies who added that the union is always open for dialogue. The union chairman also pointed out that he has tried to contact Minister Robert Peneux on several occasions but that the minister has not responded. “This is not a wild campaign as is being claimed by the minister. The union on Tuesday informed the minister of the strike,” said Valies.