Once Regional exemplars in Education, we now gone dismal!

Aug 26, 2012 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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It was the American President Lyndon B. Johnson who said, “A third place to build a great society is in the classroom.”
From what we are seeing of our students’ performance at CSEC, Guyana is lightning years away from being a great society.  Minister Manickchand’s description of their performance is “dismal”. And she added, “I think we need to be somewhere close to despair when we look at the results in the core areas which tells us that our children are going to have a lot of doors closed to them.”
Though commendably frank and kudos for the Minister, it is a serious indictment on the PPP Government which has been responsible for education in this country for the past 20 years. Young Guyanese will be unable to capitalise on opportunities that may come their way because their government failed to equip them with the education necessary to make the most of these opportunities.
The AFC, in concurring with President Johnson, acknowledges that the work in the classroom must start at the earliest level of formal education and continue through to tertiary. In this regard, we must recognise the critical role of primary education in preparing students for high school and beyond. It is at the primary level that the foundation for higher educational achievements is set.
However, when we look at what is happening in our primary schools we begin to understand why we have this dismal performance at CSEC.
We agree with CXC Registrar, Dr. Didacus Jules, that an entire system reform is needed which is aligned to the challenges in a very dynamic global environment. But the AFC emphasizes that not only to meet the global challenges, but on ground of equal opportunity and upward mobility it is required of all of us to revamp our education system from top to bottom, replenish our teaching corps, buckle down on math, science and English instruction, and rescue thousands from illiteracy!
But that will not happen unless and until there is political will to reform. Mouthing platitudes and singing self-praise of how much is being spent on education and how the allocations have tripled and quadrupled over the years will not help our children. This is the selfsame mouthings we get from this Government about our infrastructure. Its spokespersons will extol the hugeness of the expenditures. And literally on inauguration day the infrastructure collapses! It must now dawn on this Government that increased spending has failed to provide correspondingly improved results. In fact, just the opposite seems to be happening.
Some in our midst believe that the PPP Government would have no genuine interest in educating the citizenry beyond a basic level. For them an uneducated citizen is easier to control. When the people are educated, they question authority, they rationalize and make informed choices, they cultivate a healthy skepticism of Government and everything else. This, it is believed, would be a bad thing for the present administration…. to have a population that makes decisions on ground of reason rather than other emotive factors.
In this context, the people of this country, the mothers, fathers, youths and students must realize that it is in their best interest to ensure a reformed education system. The AFC agrees that Government alone cannot bring a halt to this dismal situation or to turn it around.
Firstly, a partnership with parents is the foundation to start from. Our parents have a primary obligation to inculcate an ethic of hard work and educational achievement in our children.
Secondly, there must be a halt to the present system of churning out students, promoting them regardless of whether they have learnt the basics of the present level. This is monumental dis-service to our young people. It is merely a tinkering around the edges and an acceptance of mediocrity.
Thirdly, meaningful performance-based assessments which will provide a better picture of how our students are doing must be carried out.
Fourthly, training and recruiting headmasters and principals who can transform bad to good; and, training and recruiting of more effective teachers. This means better salaries and other benefits and facilities. This PPP Government, however, only wants other benefits and facilities for its former Presidents! How much would it cost to give priority house-lots to teachers and help in guaranteeing their loans? And why not substantial increments to those who have proven to be master teachers – the experienced and highly qualified, and those highly skilled in say math, science, and language?
On the flip side, too, the AFC would like to see assessments of teachers which can then realize the mandatory exiting from the sector of non-performers. Their presence in our school system, and from all reports it is not insignificant, only handicap children who want to learn.
Fifthly, get hold of the menu of measures adopted by Swami Ashkarananda. He has got to be a genius! Almost 98 % passes in all subjects written by all students…just amazing!
We believe in all of our children. And we must shatter the myth that our children cannot learn. As Dr. Jules stated recently, it is one of the most pernicious concepts that unfortunately exist among educators. He made it clear that there is no such thing in education. Every student is capable of learning. The problem is not the student. The problem is the approaches which make it possible for the student to learn. With this the AFC wholly concur.
Here in Guyana, where once we were the Regional exemplars in education, we now have gone dismal!
The Alliance For Change believes in and have every confidence in our young people. We know that given the opportunity and the right tools, this generation of students will rise to the same prominence of the great generations of yesteryears, whose brilliance brought this country regional and international recognition.

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