Education – a crucial factor that aided independence

May 26, 2016 News

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Fifty years ago the education sector was not only controlled by the churches but it was also very male-dominated. But as the sector evolved over the years it became increasingly state managed and also allowed for women to gravitate to the profession.

This notion was yesterday emphasised by President of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), Mr. Mark Lyte.
“We are seeing more female educators even becoming managers. That was a new thing because only men were seen as dominant figures in managing education. In fact men were dominant in many fields,” Lyte noted.
According to the teacher of 23 years, what obtains now is that in addition to there being even more female managers, they are now the dominant gender in the education system. There has been a vast reduction in males in the sector. “In some schools there are no male figures.”
But this is not necessarily a bad development since, according to Lyte, “Females have really risen and that is due to equal education opportunities being offered to both genders.” He pointed out that in the education sector of today, “We are seeing both teachers and students being offered scholarships to improve their level of education.”
And it has been education that has been the very pivotal factor in helping Guyana to become an independent nation.
Guyanese today are no doubt embracing a sense of pride. Today marks 50 years of independence from British rule. Guyana became an independent nation on May 26, 1966. Today is indeed a milestone to celebrate with an abundance of pomp and fanfare. According to Lyte, education not only helped to realise the auspicious goal of independence but it will help Guyana to achieve even more in the future.
“It was because of education that our founder leaders…(Cheddi) Jagan and (Forbes) Burnham and these other guys who led our country were able to see that we cannot remain a state that is dependent on somebody else; we needed to achieve our own independence and have our own leaders,” said Lyte.
He asserted, “Had it not been for education, persons would not have seen the need for independence, therefore education played a pivotal role in the acquisition and achievement of independence…it was the educated leaders who were the driving force behind this realisation.”
He in deliberating on the link to education and independence, however, noted that free education was only realised in 1976; 10 years after independence.
Although education is recognised as the key to Guyana’s gaining independence, Lyte observed yesterday that even after attaining independence there is still more that must be done. “As a developing state we have a far way to go…I recognise that we have many things that we need to do to be where the rest of the world is,” said the GTU President.
Among these he mentioned an improved remuneration package for teachers. And according to him, “If we can be where the rest of the world is then we can have an improved education workforce. We find that it is this issue of remuneration that has also been causing male educators to shy away from the sector.”
Lyte also stressed the need for Information Communication Technology (ICT) to be fused into the regular education programme. “When we look at where we are educationally, when it comes to ICTs, we are far behind…we are in a modern technological age but we are still far behind…some schools don’t even have access to internet services,” related Lyte. He noted that the public education sector should have been directing more focus to this area to improve the delivery of learning.
“I don’t know of any school that gets its internet service paid through the Ministry of Education…those who have would have gotten it through their own efforts or through the Parent Teachers’ Association…but to get the education sector to a particular standard we should recognise the important services that should be offered,” asserted Lyte.
The GTU President also lamented the fact that there are classrooms around the country that still have poor infrastructure including poor ventilation, no lighting and some that are not even classrooms but auditoriums separated by boards.
Some classrooms are simply not conducive for learning even as the country celebrates 50 years of Independence, Lyte highlighted.
He noted, however, that the evolution of the sector over the years did allow for education to become decentralised whereby it is controlled by the individual regional administration.
According to Lyte who has been advocating for improvements in the sector since taking up the reins of the GTU, there have been noticeable improvements as it relates to training both at the Teachers’ Training College and the University of Guyana. He said that there have been structured formal education programmes, a feat that was brought to fruition through the efforts of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development.
According to Lyte, while there have been achievements and challenges in the sector, there is no denying the fact that education has been playing and continues to play a major role in Guyana’s development.
He, moreover, noted that teachers should therefore be saluted today for a task they have been bestowed with and have been faithfully honouring – to mould a nation that today celebrates 50 years of Independence.

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