AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN EDUCATION

Jan 18, 2014 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Last year there was a very important development in the education sector that escaped notice of our op-ed columns. This development is of great significance because if taken to its logical conclusion, it can be the beginning of a process that transforms the education sector for the better.
Two junior secondary schools, Bygeval and Rosignol, were converted to A-grade schools. It is apposite to observe that these schools were not certified as A-grade schools based on performance at examinations or by virtue of the qualifying marks of the students admitted therein. They were upgraded to A-grade as a matter of public policy.
This policy is a good policy. It will allow for a great deal of benefit for the educational system as whole. For one, it will lead to greater egalitarianism in education, since A-grade schools will not be restricted to those in the towns.
Guyana needs more A-grade schools and over a wider geographical spread. Many of the top scholars of this country came from areas in which there were no A-Grade schools. They were forced to either come to the city for their education or to travel long distances.
What this shows is not that the schools they attended were good, but rather, it demonstrates the potential of the students. Bygeval Secondary, which was formerly a junior secondary school, produced a former President of Guyana. By upgrading these schools to A-grade schools, it allows many talented Guyanese to not have to leave the environments they were accustomed to, just to benefit from a higher standard of education.
With better opportunities, students from areas with no A-grade schools at present can perform with and even out-perform their counterparts in the A-grade schools in the city and towns.
For parents, having to send their children away from home is a difficult decision. They want their children to do better and they are prepared to make the sacrifices necessary. But sending your child off to secondary school means that you no longer are able to see them each day, to monitor their work, and to be there for them after school.
Some children, of course, in order to attend an A-grade school, are forced to travel long distances to get to and from school. With more and more A-grade schools, these same students can now be closer to home and thus not have to travel so much, which also represents a financial burden for most parents whose children have to attend school far from home.
Rebranding a school as an A-grade school increases the prestige of the school and this brings about greater confidence in the children, and this can lead to improved performance.
Of course it takes more than a simple rebranding for a school to become an A-grade school. A-grade schools are distinguished by the quality of the performance of students at examinations, but more importantly, the entrance requirements. For students to attend an A-grade secondary school in the city, for example, they must have gained a certain number of marks at the National Grade Six Assessment.
With the elevation of the Bygeval and Rosignol Secondary Schools, it now means that students who live in areas close to these two schools and who perform to the standard of what is expected of those who are assigned to A-grade school will now have a chance to choose to go to these schools. But since there will not be for some time yet, sufficient students with the marks to fill the first forms, it means that other students will have to be accepted.
This is to be expected during this period of transitioning and development. To compensate for the fact that admission requirements may have to be lowered, there should be increased emphasis on improving performance at end-of-school examinations.
To do this requires that the policy of affirmative action should be extended to ensure that in the initial years following the upgrade in ranking, these schools should have some of the best teachers available. They should also be outfitted with state-of-the-art laboratories and libraries to allow them to catch up with the other A-grade schools.
There has unfortunately not been any announcement as to how these recently upgraded schools will be assisted so as to bring the students up to par.
Notwithstanding this, a start has to be made to address educational inequalities. The Ministry of Education must be congratulated on making this start which will allow for more egalitarian opportunities in education. This policy must be seen as one of positive action, aimed at converting weaker schools into stronger ones.

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AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN EDUCATION

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