How much are they paying these commissioners?

Aug 26, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor,
Has the Minister of Education committed the error of ‘premature cognitive commitment’? I refer to the article captioned, “GTU representative belatedly dropped from Education COI” that appeared in the 25 August edition of Kaieteur News and note with concern the jettisoning of Mr. Mark Lyte, the President of the GTU as a member of the COI.
It may be useful to note that the National Education Plan 2014-2018 specifically identifies the GTU and its members as key stakeholders involved in the implementation of the plan. How can the Minister of Education expect the complex programme that is the Education Sector Plan to be successfully implemented without the collaboration of the teachers, whom Mr. Lyte represents? And to jettison him on the grounds of limited funds? The question then is: How much money are they paying the commissioners?
The second point I wish to make is that your newspaper has been carrying the notices of several commissions of inquiry, the most recent being the “Notice of Hearing, Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the Conditions and Circumstances Facing Veterans of the Guyana Defence Force …” It should be noted that the administrators of that COI have done a good job in informing the public through those notices.
My question is why isn’t the Ministry of Education publishing Notices of Hearing of the Commission of Inquiry into Education? More so, in light of the fact that there have been significant changes in the composition of the COI. According to your newspaper, cabinet has recommended that there be 5 commissioners instead of the previous set of 10 commissioners.
Further, the Ministry of Education should follow ‘Best Practices’ as was done by the Veterans COI and publish not only ‘Notices of Hearing’ but also the Terms of Reference of the COI and the names of the current commissioners.
This is important since the Minister of Education claims that they are appealing to all to participate in the process. It is imperative that the public be aware of the Terms of Reference so that they can make a meaningful input. My other question relates to the ‘expertise and skills-set’ of those appointed as commissioners of the Education COI. If the rationale for holding the COI is to ‘review, revise, upgrade, expand and modernize the Education Sector Plan 2014 – 2018, then ‘Best Practices’ in the education sector would suggest that the persons making up the commission would have the relevant ‘expertise and skills-set’ in those areas. Does the reconstituted commission have the required ‘skills-set’?
If a critical element the COI has to consider is the ‘delivery of education’ then the question should be asked, who among the commissioners has expertise in this area? In ICT and Education? Who has ‘expertise’ in modernizing the education sector? In modern teaching methodologies?
In Developing Countries such as Guyana, the focus always seems to be only on picking persons for the job, rather than first identifying the areas of expertise and skills-set required to get the job done.
No wonder one sees changes such as the dramatic 10-to-5 reduction in the composition of the COI. Is this yet another case of putting the cart before the horse?
I recall the Minister of Education responding to a question by a journalist who asked him whether the recommendations of the COI would be implemented and he responded affirmatively. I see a danger there. And the danger lies in the error of ‘premature cognitive commitment’: committing to something you have not seen, much less studied is dangerous. I hope however that the Minister of Education publishes the Report of the Commission when it is finished. I recall the words of Albert Einstein, “The only thing that gets in the way of my learning, is my education.”
Concerned citizen

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