Dear Editor,
In September 2021, when school was scheduled to re-start, the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) called a strike. This is after teachers would have been home from March 2020. The reason the GTU gave as a reason for calling out their teachers on strike is because the Government had said that every person entering a public building including teachers needed to be vaccinated. The GTU was resisting that and saying to teachers they had a choice and should not be forced and by doing that sending a strong message not to take the vaccine. The science then was clear and has become clearer since. Only vaccination will take us out of the pandemic state.
School re-opened on Monday 3rd January 2022 after a three week Christmas holiday. The GTU has again called on teachers to stay home on Monday 10th 2022. This time they say it is because of the rising numbers of COVID cases and teachers who were found to be infected last week.
A few things, Mr. Editor. The GTU is operating like a senseless group who has no regard for science. Firstly, any teacher who tested positive on Monday 3rd, Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th, Thursday 6th last week after being out of school for three weeks having been on Christmas vacation did NOT get COVID from the school sector. Because they were not in school.
Secondly, the way for teachers to avoid catching COVID or from getting sick from Covid is by being vaccinated the very thing the GTU was fighting last year.
The GTU must say what have they done as a group to encourage their teachers to become vaccinated. What have they done to encourage their teachers to stay away from groups and large gatherings. What have they done to encourage their teachers to wear masks. And if the GTU is telling teachers not to teach in schools are they also telling teachers not to hold their lessons?
Alvin Hamilton.
