By Enid Joaquin The Railroad Yard in Linden, which some decades ago used to be a hive of activity, is presently reduced to a sort of “graveyard” for the locomotives and ore cars that traversed the railways,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, plying precious bauxite from mining sites with such exotic names as Dorabece, Arrowcane, Yarraribo,Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys, Montgomery,Cheap Jerseys, Akima and Ituni.The two lone locomotives within the railroad yard precinct, if they could talk, would tell stories of pulling between seventy and ninety ore cars laden with bauxite from the mining sites to the bauxite plant, for processing and shipping.A condemned locomotive in the Railroad Yard in Linden Unfortunately, many of the ore cars themselves have become heaps of scrap metal,Wholesale Jerseys USA, with a few that are still intact heaped in a pile,Cheap Jerseys Outlet, for possible use as revetments and other infrastructural works within the community according to CEO of the Linmine Secretariat, Horace James.According to reports, the Tourism Association has written seeking permission from the relevant authorities to use the locomotives as a possible tourist attraction.Many persons hope that approval will be given so that persons who have never had the opportunity to ride the trains could at least ride the locomotive, if the tracks are still there.That will be quite an experience as I for one would be among the first to “hitch” a ride, and relive childhood memories of the shrill whistle of the locomotives waking me out of my sleep. I used to lay awake and listen to the monotonous cadence of the ore cars as the wheels of steel ground the railway tracks,Cheap Jerseys From China, echoing and reverberating long after the bauxite train had passed with their precious load.

The management of some School Boards continues to be a bother to the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU). This was one of the pressing issues deliberated on when the Union convened its recent Biennial Conference in Bartica.Speaking on the issue,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, GTU President, Mark Lyte,NFL Jerseys China, shared the Union’s belief that “some Boards are counterproductive to the delivery of quality education in Guyana.” As such he related that this situation remains a serious concern to the GTU.He qualified the Union’s view by sharing that “Head teachers and teachers continue to report breaches in the operation of some School Boards. In fact, some Boards have no idea as to what their mandate is and therefore function outside of their authority.”He vocalised his conviction,Cheap Jerseys 2018, “It is about time that the School Boards’ policy be reviewed so that a more effective way can be chartered for education in Guyana. We must evaluate the work of School Boards in Guyana and work to either enhance or eradicate them.”While the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) is tasked with appointing, promoting and disciplining the majority of teachers in the public education system, there are School Boards that play a similar role to a lesser extent.School Boards are appointed by the School Board Secretariat which falls under the purview of the Ministry of Education. And Lyte disclosed that on most occasions persons are selected by the Ministry.He had previously told this publication that School Boards comprised political appointees. “Generally they do nothing for the schools.” He therefore reiterated his belief that the operations of School Boards should be reviewed or even possibly become a thing of the past.He disclosed last year that during the lead-up to the May 11, 2015 elections, Head Teachers were asked to identify persons to comprise the Boards.But according to Lyte, finding the ideal people, who are interested to volunteer a great deal of their time to the uncompensated work of the Board, is not always an easy task. “These people are not given a stipend for their travelling or anything,Cheap NFL Jerseys,” said Lyte of the School Boards members.He added that they may not have the schools’ interest at heart.According to Lyte, the need for a revision of the School Boards Secretariat and by extension, School Boards has long been an issue gaining the attention of the Union.“This has been something that we have asked for a long time because we find that there is a lot of conflict. People who do not necessarily understand education are placed on School Boards based on their political affiliations,” said Lyte.Ahead of the call for Headteachers to identify potential Board Members,NFL Jerseys Cheap Authentic, Lyte said, “Persons were selected from external places based on their affiliation to be a part of Boards,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, and many of them did not know education policies so they could not make informed decisions.”Another shortcoming of the Board highlighted by Lyte is that, while teachers of non-board public schools are appointed by the TSC, those at Board Schools are appointed by the respective School Boards. This translates to some variances.For instance, while TSC requires a teacher applying for a Head Teacher position to undergo an evaluation complete with the writing of an essay, this is not required by the Board.There are currently about 30 Board Schools and according to Lyte, “It is simply not a level playing field.”He is convinced that a school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) together with its administration could offer more efficient management than the School Boards.