“Issues must be addressed rationally”

The Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Robert Peneux, recently responded to Wednesday’s union meeting of the Teachers’ Association (BvL) and the Alliance for Teachers in Suriname (ALS) by saying that “issues must be addressed rationally.” The minister has also invited the chairman of the BvL and the ALS, Wilgo Valies, to a protest meeting at 11 a.m. on Monday. Valies recently told Times of Suriname that the entire education sector is under attack and that nobody is worried about it.” Valies pointed out that the unions will inform the nation about the problems within the Surinamese education sector. The BvL and the ALS have invited teachers, students and parents to attend it protest meeting on Wednesday. The union recently announced that several teachers have been fired and that others have been assigned to other schools because they had joined the union strikes. Some teachers also face disciplinary action. Valies made it clear that decisions were made without teachers’ consent. “All measures that could lead to the improvement of the quality of Suriname’s education system have been rejected,” said Valies who added that provisions that teachers were entitled to were suddenly taken away for no reason whatsoever. “As representatives of the teachers we deem this unacceptable and will therefore let our voices be heard,” said Valies who added that the Ministry of Education launched its attacks on the BvL and the ALS some time ago. He made it clear that the ministry is ignoring international conventions that Suriname has ratified. “The situation is already frantic. I had expected the ministry to opt for a ‘quiet’ new school year. We had expected the employer, the Ministry of Education, to realize that a good understanding with teachers is of the utmost importance. Everything is being done to silence teachers,” said Valies who added that nobody has the courage to stand up against the people who are launching attacks on teachers. “The ministry’s attitude is completely demolishing the education sector.”