³0inister¶s attitude Zill determine BY/ $/6 camSaiJn´

“0onday the doors of the schools will be opened. We are disappointed in the attitude of the 0inister because we thought that she would do things differently,” said the &hairman of the Teachers¶ $ssociation (%v/) and the $lliance for Teachers in 6uriname ($/6), Wilgo Valies. The union chairman made it clear that the attitude of the 0inister will determine if there will be strikes. He pointed out that one basya has been sent home and that another one has arrived at the ministry. “We will not accept this. The 0inister can¶t decide if there will be a strike or not because only the teachers can make that decision. 2ther work hours apply to teachers,” said Valies who added that the 0inister should have familiarized herself with her new surroundings instead of making several statements about teachers. Valies explained that the new 0inister does not listen to both sides of the story. “,f a child tells a story, the teacher is immediately considered as somebody who does not do his or her work accordingly. We deliberately did not respond when we hears that Ferrier would become the new 0inister of (ducation. We wanted to see what she would do but she immediately started making prejudicial statements about teachers,” said Valies who added that the statements made by 0inister /ilian Ferrier are a setback for teachers especially given the fact that they had many problems with former 0inister 5obert Penuex during the past two years. “We do not know how she got the name ,ron /ady. 6he can¶t just ignore the rights and achievements of the teachers. Ferrier is an amateur who still has much to learn and we need a professional. This woman wants to focus on children and not on other factors such as teachers,” said Valies. The unions hope that the new 0inister of (ducation, 6cience and &ulture will invite them soon to a meeting so that they can get acTuainted.