The Ministry of Education’s Chief Education Officer (CEO), Saddam Hussain, has issued an apology for insensitive content found in the textbook Guyanese in the World and has committed to strengthening quality assurance and withdrawing the material in question.
The Grade Three Social Studies textbook, intended for primary school students, reportedly contained fictional but “insensitive information” about a village toshao and residents of Chinese Landing in Region One.
Speaking in a video uploaded to the ministry’s official Facebook page on Thursday, Hussain expressed regret over the error and assured the public that the matter would be addressed.
He also confirmed that the book would be reviewed and reprinted for distribution.
“My attention was drawn to a post on Facebook highlighting a number of insensitive materials found within one of our textbooks… As Chief Education Officer, I want to acknowledge the concerns raised by members of the public. The Ministry of Education deeply regrets any offence or distress caused to parents, students, the wider community, and especially the residents of Chinese Landing,” Hussain stated.
He admitted that the error was a clear failure of the ministry’s quality assurance mechanism, noting that the ministry has always taken pride in providing high-quality, inclusive, and culturally sensitive educational materials.
Hussain further assured the public that this mistake would be rectified and that the ministry would reassess its quality assurance procedures to prevent a recurrence.
“Again, on behalf of the Ministry of Education and as Chief Education Officer, I want to express our regret. I offer our unconditional apology for the errors found in this book. We acknowledge that the materials are quite insensitive. While the scenario presented was fictional, several other scenarios could have been used that would not have been as sensitive. The Ministry of Education, once again, offers its sincerest and unequivocal apology,” he reiterated.
