President of the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Teachers Union, Otto Sam, has described the week of activities held by the organization as very successful.

Sam is pleased with the attendance registered at the various functions held to mark Teachers’ Solidarity Week, which ran from November 17 to 14 under the theme, “Reaffirming Our Commitment And Dedication To Quality Education”. {{more}}

Commenting on the annual march, rally and games evening, held at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex on Thursday, November 11, Sam said that more than 300 teachers turned out for the march. He said, however, that more teachers could have attended, seeing that a half-holiday was given in relation to the event.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines has over 1500 teachers and according to Sam, in the past between 30 to 40 teachers usually attended these functions. The candlelight vigil on Sunday saw about 60 people attending.

The union president said that during the week there was a great awareness of the 1975 teachers’ struggle.

Among the things dealt with during Teachers’ Solidarity Week were cultural penetration, more training for teachers, and keeping teachers on the cutting edge of technology.

Sam also bemoaned the fact that education authorities put together policies without consultation or discussion with the teaching fraternity.