PNCR calls for halt to proposed closure of J.E Burnham Primary School

…demands broad consultation

(Kaieteur News) – The People’s National Congress Reform/A Partnership for National Unity (PNCR/APNU) has objected to the proposed closure of the J.E. Burnham Primary School on William Street, Kitty, Georgetown, and called on the government to halt the decision.

In a recent statement, the party expressed solidarity with the parents, students and teachers who are against the closure of the school. “We say to this government: consult the people. Listen to the people. You serve them, you do not rule over them,” the party said.

J.E Burnham Primary School

It underscored that parents deserve predictability and should not be subjected to abrupt decisions after making financial sacrifices to prepare their children for school. “The timing of this announcement, within the new school year, after parents have already spent scarce resources on uniforms, books, and school supplies, demonstrates a callous disregard for working-class Guyanese families,” the party said, adding that the move to close the school would directly affect household budgets.

PNCR/APNU demanded that the government immediately suspend any decision to close the school and conduct broad, genuine consultations with parents, students, teachers, the Kitty community and all relevant stakeholders.

The party also called on the government to publicly disclose the criteria used to identify J.E. Burnham Primary School for closure and explain why institutions bearing the Burnham name appear to be targeted.

Additionally, it demanded a guarantee that no teacher would face reprisals for expressing a legitimate opinion on the matter. The party said it had observed a pattern in the government’s decisions to close certain schools, pointing to the Winifred Gaskin Memorial School and Central High School, which it said were also associated with the name Burnham and the country’s national history.

“The same attitude was adopted toward the Winifred Gaskin Memorial School and Central High School, institutions likewise associated with the name Burnham and with our national history. We will not stand by and allow this government to systematically erase the name Burnham and our shared history from the landscape of Guyana. Schools are not merely buildings; they are custodians of memory, heritage, and community identity. To target them one after another is an act of political vengeance dressed up as policy,” PNCR/APNU said.

The party also expressed concern about what it described as a climate of fear among teachers, who it said had reportedly been intimidated into remaining silent and refraining from speaking out. PNCR/APNU said that when educators are afraid to voice dissent and institutions can be closed for ideological reasons, it points to the hallmarks of modern-day dictatorship.

Source: Kaieteur News