President Irfaan Ali announced that existing anomalies affecting minimum-wage teachers will be corrected in their salaries this month.
The Head of State made the announcement during a meeting with hundreds of teachers from across Guyana, including head teachers, deputy head teachers, heads of departments and representatives from the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) at State House today.
During the meeting, several other issues were raised, including housing, infrastructure development of schools and other educational facilities, salaries and allowances, and human resource development.
Addressing the issue of housing specifically, President Ali said that he reached out to the banks to work along with teachers to prequalify and approve them for loans for up to $15m with an interest rate of 3.75%. These loans will be applicable to persons with allocated house lots. Persons who are yet to commence construction, the President added, will receive subsidies from the government for steel and cement to build their foundations.
He reassured that all outstanding issues from the meeting will be comprehensively addressed.
Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, the Honourable Dr Ashni Singh; Minister of Education, the Honourable Priya Manickchand; and Minister of Labour, the Honourable Joseph Hamilton, were also part of the meeting.