Teachers in the Witness Box: When the Ministry Makes Educators the Food Inspectors

THE 592 GUARDIAN ♦ OPINION ♦JUNE 2026

Teachers in the Witness Box: When the Ministry Makes Educators the Food Inspectors

Minister Sonia Parag has made teachers the food inspectors of Guyana’s National School Feeding Program. But teachers are not certified food safety professionals.

A photograph cannot detect bacteria. A video cannot measure temperature. And a signature on a “letter of satisfaction” does not make a meal wholesome. 

The Minister has placed herself in the witness box—and the questions she must answer are not about political gains, but about children’s safety.

On June 11, 2026, the Ministry of Education dismissed claims that St. Theresa Primary School in Region Six received spoiled, moldy cheese sandwiches. The ministry’s statement rests on five “facts” that collapse under scrutiny. FACT 2 declares that every meal is “videoed, photographed and inspected thoroughly by teachers,” who must then “sign a letter of satisfaction confirming that the meals meet the requisite high standards fit for our children”. FACT 3 states that since September 2025, the minister made it mandatory for caterers to provide video and photo evidence of meals being prepared.

‘This policy is accountability theater dressed as reform. It shifts professional food-safety liability onto uncertified educators while offering parents no real assurance that meals meet minimum safety, temperature, or nutritional standards.’

Teachers Are Not Certified Food Inspectors 

Minister Parag, teachers are not certified food inspectors. What training have the 5,000+ Guyanese teachers received on food-safety protocols, pathogen detection, temperature validation, or HACCP standards? Food inspection requires certified knowledge of bacterial growth zones (e.g., Salmonella, E. coli,) temperature thresholds (cold chain ≤4°C, hot food ≥60°C), cross-contamination prevention, and expiration date verification. Teachers lack the legal credentials to sign a “letter of satisfaction” for food safety.

A photo cannot detect these. Teachers are being tasked with food-safety auditing—a role that requires certification they do not possess. This is role expansion without resources, training, or legal indemnity.’

The Scientific Impossibility of Visual Checks

How does a photograph confirm that cheese sandwiches are not spoiled? Mold may be invisible in early stages. How do you verify the meal was stored at the correct temperature from caterer to classroom? FACT 2 says meals are “photographed, videoed, and inspected thoroughly,” but photos cannot measure internal temperature of food, bacterial contamination, nutritional content (protein, vitamins, calories), or moisture levels that cause mold.

‘This is documentation theater—it looks like accountability but has zero scientific basis. The ministry offers no third-party verification. The QR code for complaints is a public relations tool, not a safety mechanism.’

Nutritional Standards Cannot Be Verified by Photos

How do teachers verify that sandwiches meet the required nutritional standards (e.g., 400–500 kcal, 15g protein, micronutrient requirements for ages 5–12)? 

Can a photo show the cheese is low-sodium, the bread is whole-grain, or the filling has adequate protein? 

The National School Feeding Program mandate includes nutritional adequacy (per FAO Guyana), but teachers are being tasked with nutrition auditing—a role that requires dietitian certification.

 Legal Liability Without Protection

When a teacher signs a “letter of satisfaction,” are they now legally liable if a child gets food poisoning? What is the due process if a caterer is removed under FACT 4? Have teachers been given legal protection or indemnity? The ministry is creating personal liability for teachers without training, certification, or appeal mechanisms. 

This is potentially unconstitutional role expansion—teachers are being made co-defendants in food-safety failures.

Parental Assurance Is Missing

Parents are told to trust photos and videos. But how can they be assured these checks meet minimum food safety standards? Where is the independent audit? Where are the temperature logs? Where are the lab tests for bacterial contamination? The ministry offers no transparency. The policy assumes that documentation equals safety, but it does not.

Political Deflection vs. Real Accountability

The minister claims complaints are “cheap political gains” and that meals are “forgotten in book bags for days” (FACT 5). But St. Theresa Primary reported spoiled cheese on June 11—how do you explain the discrepancy between your verification (FACT 1) and the parents’ report? (FACT 1) says cheese was served since June 9 and verified fresh by the headteacher. (FACT 5) blames parents for forgetting meals. This is contradictory deflection. The ministry is gaslighting parents while avoiding accountability for caterer breaches.

 The Time Burden on Teachers

This policy also adds significant time to teachers’ daily schedules. Inspecting 50 meals thoroughly (10–15 seconds each), photographing them (3–5 seconds each), and videoing them (5–10 seconds each) takes 16–27 minutes per lunch period. With two lunch rotations, that’s 32–54 minutes/day—roughly 2.5–5 hours per week.

For teachers already stretched thin, this is a substantial burden that directly competes with their primary mandate: delivering the school learning curriculum.

The Witness Box Is Yours

Minister Parag’s policy is not accountability—it is accountability alchemy. She is trying to turn photos into food safety, videos into nutrition audits, and teachers into certified inspectors. Children’s wellbeing cannot be secured through documentation theater.

 The witness box is yours, Minister. Answer these questions with data, not deflection.

Until you do, parents cannot be assured that their children’s meals are safe, wholesome, or nutritionally adequate. And teachers remain unfairly burdened with a role they were never trained to perform.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 592 𝙂𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙂𝙪𝙮𝙖𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙘, 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙨.