| A tribute to the late Raj Mangal, MS (BA, Dip Ed)By Leon SuseranIf you are or were a teacher, chances are, you would have made an indelible impression on lives. A teacher has that power; and the late Raj Mangal harnessed that power and used it for the benefit of the thing he loved and cherished the most, education. The affairs of education in Guyana were right next to his heart.In fact, it is not ironic at all that Mr Mangal lived just a stone’s throw from the Department of Education office in New Amsterdam. More intriguingly,nba jerseys discount, he passed from this world, during a month put aside to celebrate education and just a few days short of another World Teachers’ Day. Call it what you may, but all of that just cannot be coincidence.Mr Mangal presenting certificate to L. Suseran during CPCE's convocation in 2006. He attended every single graduation whenever his teachers graduated, no matter how late they had to travel back to BerbiceI was lucky to interview this great man in 2007.Early LifeRajkishore Mangal was born on June 28, 1941 at Number 19 Village, on the East Coast of Berbice, Guyana. He attended the then Bohemia Canadian Missionary Primary School (now Bohemia Primary) where he performed exceptionally well by achieving two accelerated promotions.This meant that he completed Second and Third Standards in one year; and he finished Fifth and Sixth Standards in one year.He was one of only two students from the school passing the Primary School Leaving Certificate Examination in 1954.As a village primary school lad, Raj enjoyed assisting the family in the rice fields especially on weekends and on school holidays as well. He said he was good at catching fish, cutting and fetching wood and grass, milking cows, and ‘shooting birds’ with “slingshots”.Working in the rice fields was also much fun for him and he, nowadays,Jerseys NFL Cheap, would regale whoever would listen to him with stories of alligators,Cheap NFL Football Jerseys, huge snakes, catching hassar (a kind of armoured fish) off their nests with bare hands and searching for ‘monkey apples’ in “dark jungles”.He continued this “country boy” life during his high school years also.Mr Mangal said that at that time, he heard his father and the head teacher speak of ‘high- school’.He understood that such a school was to be formed in the town of New Amsterdam, seven miles away from the village and to attend same; his parents had to find money to pay school “fees”.He also had to acquire a bicycle. His parents could not afford one.The Berbice Educational Institute (BEI)- the private high school in New Amsterdam– his father was told by the primary head teacher, was having an Entrance Examination for hundreds of high schoolers. The four top performers would be given scholarships which meant free high school education for five years and financial assistance to purchase textbooks.Mr Mangal said that his father told him, “Son, you want to go to high school? Then here is your chance!” He was one of the four scholarship winners!One of his uncles had an old bicycle. He started to attend BEI in August 1954. He rode his bicycle the 14-mile distance every school day for five years. He faced the challenge of the town’s “bright students”; wild cane whipping (corporal punishment) if he was not the top performer in subjects such as: Latin, Christian Religious Knowledge (he is a Hindu) and Civics. Because he was a “scholarship boy”Mr and Mrs Mangal perform sacred rituals during a special Hawaan ceremony at their home in June this yearhaving his tuition fees “paid by the school”, he was told he had to always be the “top boy”.But Mr Mangal said he enjoyed his days at BEI. He was prefect, head prefect, President of the “Library and Debating Society” and was responsible for publishing the school’s weekly ‘news sheets’,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, which was sold for a penny each.Mr Mangal graduated from high school in 1959; he was the top graduating student and was offered a scholarship by the school to attend Queen’s College in Georgetown and write the GCE (Advanced Level) Examinations after two years.But to the dismay of his high school principal, he did not accept the scholarship. He opted instead for a teaching job at the school, thus earning money to fund the high school education of two of his brothers who in 1959 had just finished primary school. POST- HIGH SCHOOL YEARSThe following year, Mr Mangal wrote the Advanced Level Examination, studying on his own using self-tuition correspondence courses bought from England.As a high school teacher, Mr Mangal taught Geography, History, French, Latin, Spanish, Economics and Mathematics.During the years 1966-1970, he attended the University of Guyana as an evening student. During the day he taught at a city high school. He graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Geography. His minor was in Spanish.Later, he acquired the Post- Graduate Diploma in Education (Dip. Ed.) majoring in Education Administration.Mr Mangal returned to his alma mater BEI, in January 1971 as Deputy Principal. Later,Cheap Jerseys China, he became Principal (Ag) and in 1981, he was appointed Principal in which position he remained until 1995 (the year before he retired as Principal) when he was seconded to start and head the Rose Hall Town branch of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), which trains the high school teachers of East and West Berbice.NUMEROUS AWARDSMr Mangal won several awards over the past couple of years. The Department of Education awarded him for 25 years to the teaching profession in the Municipality of New Amsterdam in May, 1991.The District Education Officer in October of 1994 awarded him for 35 years of sterling service to education.The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) gave him an award for long and dedicated and conscientious service in 1998.The Berbice Educational Institute (BEI) Old Students’ Association presented him with an award for dedicated service as a teacher on November 9, 2002. He was awarded the Rotary Club Vocational Service Award in October, 2005, in recognition of long, dedicated and distinguished service to the profession and practice of education.Mr Mangal was presented by President Bharrat Jagdeo on May 26,Jerseys NFL Wholesale China, 2002 at the National Cultural Centre with one of the country’s top national awards: The Medal of Service (MS).He recalled many life experiences during his 48 years in the public education system, one of which revolved around the wearing of shirt jac. The late President Cheddi Jagan brought shirt jac to Guyana and President Burnham continued it. He related a matter in which he was fired from his job as Deputy Headmaster of BEI for wearing shirt jac to work and not the stipulated shirt with tie, as had been demanded by the then school board.Mr Mangal stated that the matter became a national issue and was featured daily in the newspapers as he had received numerous support from the then Minister of Education, Ms Shirley Field- Ridley and several of his colleagues, even President Jagan. Subsequently, he was allowed to wear his shirt jac to work, and this remained his mode of dress until his retirement.Learning much from the situation, Mr Mangal said that teachers must always stand up for their rights. “When teachers are on the side to what is right, they must not give up and let others dissuade them”.A DEEP LOSSThe name “Mr Mangal” has become a household name in Berbice and undoubtedly Guyana. He worked tirelessly, even amidst opposition, to establish a teacher- training facility in Berbice so that teachers would not have to travel to the main campus at Turkeyen.He gladly assumed the position of Head-of-Centre of the Cyril Potter College of Education at Rose Hall Town in 1995, creating history as it were, and for the first time, teachers could have attended In- Service teacher training.His heart and soul was at CPCE Rose Hall Centre. After dismissal at nights at 7:00pm, Mr Mangal would be the last person to leave the minibus, always making sure his teachers were safe and sound at their respective homes. He gave his life- blood to CPCE, Rose Hall Centre. He was a man who genuinely cared for the welfare of teachers, and gave them long speeches and talks about his experiences in the sector.Last June, he held a ‘Hawaan’ ceremony at his home, in celebration of his wedding anniversary and 70th birth anniversary. Many well- wishers, friends, and educators shared in that special moment with Mr Mangal. It was his long desire to partake in such a function. Little did everyone know, that the next time they would all gather again, it will be under different circumstances.A void has been created in education, a void that will remain difficult to fill.May his soul rest in peace. |
