Granger bemoans state of nation’s education system

Oct 31, 2015 News

---

– at national awards ceremony
The Ministry of Education yesterday rewarded students who excelled in the recently completed Caribbean Secondary Certificate Examinations (CSEC), the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE),

the Guyana Technical Education Examination, Carnegie School of Home Economics the Cyril Potter College of Education and the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
While the nation’s high flyers were recognized for their outstanding performances, Head of State President David Granger used the occasion to lament the state of the entire education system in Guyana and spoke to the need for an overall improvement.
This, he said, was critical, if Guyanese students are to compete in the global economy when coming out of the secondary education system.
The President believes that Guyana’s secondary education system can in no way be termed universal, since it is unequal and a rebuke of Government’s resolve in equality, inclusivity and a meritocracy.
“There are problems in the educational sector,” said Granger, who pointed to the fact that each day five children drop out of secondary school.
“What is to become of them?”
The President noted too that each year more than half of the students who undertake the National Grade Six Assessment fail, and that this means that our secondary education system is not producing the desired results.
“It means that half of the students who enter the secondary school system may not be qualified to be there.”
He drew reference to the fact that fewer than half of those who wrote English A and Mathematics at the 2015 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, examinations secured passes.
The Ministry of Education, he said, described as unsatisfactory, the performance of students in the core science subjects of Physics and Chemistry.

“This performance is unacceptable in the knowledge-based world in which we live…Guyana simply cannot continue along this trajectory if it is to compete with our sisters in the Caribbean.”
He underscored too that there are troubling disparities in education attainment between the coastland and the hinterland and between the schools in Georgetown and the rest of the coastland.
According to the President, education delivery in Guyana is akin to ‘apartness,’ another form of ‘apartheid’ and “we must avoid and avert the danger of children being separated along lines of gender, social class or geographical location.”
Granger was adamant there is need to reshape our educational policies, “If we are to arrest the decline in the educational system, to reduce the disparities in performance and to better prepare graduates of our secondary school system for the world of work.”
“Our educational policies must continue to reward excellence but they must also reduce or remove inequalities.”
The President said, “If we do not reward meritocracy, standards will fall…We must encourage our students – as we are doing here today–to strive for excellence.”
He said that the success of the few being recognized at the awards ceremony should, however, not be the sole defining feature of “Our secondary school system…We cannot judge the quality of our educational system by the performance of the top one percent of the population.”
According to President Granger, “We must assess the quality of our educational system by how all students perform.”
There are 70,000 secondary school students in Guyana, according to Granger as he questioned how many of them will be attending ceremonies, such as yesterday’s.
Outlining Government’s commitment to the sector in the coming years, he first stressed, “We aim at ensuring that every child receives a sound secondary education.”
He said that it is the starting point in ensuring a reduction in disparities and for greater equality in our education system.
According to President Granger, it is also a goal of the administration to ensure that every child attends secondary school.
“Education is the gateway out of poverty; education will unlock opportunities for employment for our young people…Education will help our young people to participate in the local and global economy,
“Each child, therefore, must be in school if that child is to avoid or overcome poverty,” the President said.
The President was adamant, too, that every teacher must be a University graduate. “Our school children must be guaranteed inclusive quality education.”
He described the concept of untrained teachers as untenable and drew comparisons with a doctor or a pilot. He asked if anyone would be comfortable being taken care of by an untrained pilot or doctor.
According to Granger, “It is necessary to have properly educated teachers to ensure that our children have access to quality education.”
He committed the government to placing great emphasis on the education of teachers. “We would like to ensure that, over the next 15 years, all teachers in our school system are university graduates so that our children can benefit from this education.”
Teachers, he said, must also have the tools to do their jobs.
On the matter of information technology, the President said that every school must have a well-equipped laboratory and library.
“Every secondary school must have an adequately well-equipped science and computer laboratory…The Information and Communications Technology Infrastructure must be improved.”
According to Granger, apart from WiFi being available at every school, each must also have an adequate library.
“Ensuring that every secondary school is equipped will help reduce disparities in educational attainment between the coastland and the hinterland.
“All secondary schools will be starting out on a more even footing when it comes to equipment and resources.”

---

---