Chief Education Officer (CEO) Olato Sam, with immediate effect, will no longer be holding his position and reports are circulating that he may have been booted.
A source indicated that Sam’s contract had ended and the Education Ministry had chosen not to renew it and so he was sent on his “annual” leave.
“We heard that they would not renew his contract and that his removal was overdue,” the source said.
The Education Ministry released a statement confirming that he will no longer be functioning “effective immediately” as the CEO since his contracted has ended.
“Mr Sam has served the sector with distinction and zeal for the past eight years, five of which he served as CEO. The Ministry wishes to thank Mr Sam for his contributions to the education sector in Guyana and extends best wishes to him for all future endeavours,” the statement read, adding that the position for CEO is expected to be advertised shortly with the hope of finding a suitably qualified candidate by the end of September 2016.
Sam was noticeably absent from the Ministry’s press conference earlier this week, during the announcement of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) results. The CEO would usually present the results but this year, he did not. Instead Acting Chief Education Officer (Nursery), Ingrid Trotman made the presentation.
When contacted on Friday, Sam refused on comment on the matter, only stating that he was sent on leave by the Ministry.
“I have nothing to say about this… you need to talk to the Minister. I’m officially on leave from the Ministry,” he said.
Sam was appointed the CEO of the Ministry in 2011 after serving five years as the Technical Advisor to the Education Minister. He also has a Masters’ Degree in International Education, and has lectured at the University of Guyana’s School of Education and Humanities, the Departments of Foundations and Education Management and Curriculum and Instruction.
He has a Bachelor’s Degree in ‘Sociology, Anthropology and Education’ from the Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
