Guyana’s 19th century educational system is irrelevant and inimical to students

Feb 03, 2015 Letters

---

DEAR EDITOR,
In this modern era, the PPP regime’s archaic approach to education has proven to be irrelevant and inimical to the interests of most students. In part, the programmes developed by the Ministry of Education have contributed to the increasing incidence of violence and indiscipline in schools and they are not what the parents and students need to progress towards finding solutions to the country’s failing education system.
The background of many of the students reflects a serious disconnect between the government notions of schooling and theirs. Many students are economically underprivileged and are simply not prepared to access the schooling opportunity currently being offered, and are thus doomed to failure even before they start.
Therefore, the PPP government’s elitist approach to education and symptoms like school violence is but one of the negative outcomes. The question therefore is: Can they correct it? Has the Ministry of Education recognized this growing problem, and if so, what is being done to fix it?
What the Ministry must realize is that this problem is like a cancer that must be corrected and soon. Failure is not an option and those in authority must accept the fact that their approach to education in the 21st century is seriously flawed, and has been based on an outdated notion of education being the means by which workers were produced (19th Century European model) and not the means by which students are moulded to become good and productive human beings.
The Ministry of Education has failed to redefine the nature and purpose of education in Guyana. Given its national developmental goals and objectives, the purpose of education must be seen as the means by which every student can realize their maximum human potential in order to make a positive contribution to the advancement of the society. But in Guyana, only the students with rich and privileged parents, and not the poor ones, are most likely to realize their dreams.
This overarching philosophy of education must be the basis for redefining the school system in Guyana. Schools must become the vehicles for the development of the entire community that they serve, while taking their mandate from the very community. This is the context in which the teacher/educator must define his/her role.
This paradigm shift in the approach to education is the first fundamental step for the Ministry of Education to effectively deal with the social problems that parents are currently grappling with, including school violence. It is the first step towards making education relevant to the needs of the country’s diverse learners and ensuring that education has meaning and value for all of them.
It is also the only way that schools can really connect with those students with diminished social capital and devise approaches to education that take their economic situation into consideration. Schooling should be about validating the realities of all learners, notwithstanding their social backgrounds or economic status or learning styles and preferences.
Countries that have made such a paradigm shift in terms of the nature and purpose of education have very successful systems today. They have significantly lower levels of violence in schools, because their methods have given every student an opportunity to be someone of worth and value. Students are far less depressed or marginalized in countries with high performing education systems. These systems are characterized by both equality of opportunity and equity.
Every child must be given a fighting chance to succeed at what they do and their learning techniques can maximize their unique strengths and talents. But in Guyana, there is a system that benefits only students with rich and powerful parents.
Unless the Ministry of Education is prepared to make that kind of fundamental shift in its approach to education, the country will continue to be faced with high levels of crime, violence and indiscipline not only in the schools but in the wider society. For the past ten years, the PPP has promoted an education system that is based on the perpetuation of a class differential, which has marginalized large segments of the population, particularly the poor, thus making these students feel that they are left out and do not have any chance of becoming something, because the cards are stacked against them.
Schools must be given the latitude to define and develop curricula that are in sync with the realities of the students they serve and the resources and means to deliver such curricula. Teachers must accept the reality that not all children learn the same way and want to learn the same things. And the Ministry of Education must be prepared to put systems in place to compensate for the diminished social capital of many of our students.
Lumping all socially disadvantaged students into specific school types without the means to deal with the associated underachievement overwhelms the capacity of the school, resulting in frustrated students, teachers and parents. The net result is a pervasive sense of hopelessness, despair and failure of many students. This is one of the reasons why so many schools in Guyana have become zones of extreme violence and indiscipline.
Chandra Deolall,
Derrick Arjune
Asha Balbachan                                 
Rohit Misir
Allison Rutherford
Chandra Deolall
Asquith Rose
Vincent Nauth
Dr. Reginald Watkins
Donna Mathoo
Noel Moses
Dr. Merle Spenser-Marks

---

---