Problems with education delivery in Region 2

Sep 04, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
I read to my heart’s contentment a letter captioned “Region Two Teacher…” published in your newspaper on the 17th August, 2017.
However there is an old Blue Ridge saying, “You cannot measure a snake until it is dead.” It is a fact what is happening in Region Two and an insult to our intelligence for every learned educator on this particular, phenomenon presently occurring in Region Two, as it relates to literacy. Frankly discussing, this is quite infuriating, frustrating, repugnant and obnoxious.
There is the impulsive appointment of an education official in Region Two. In silence we all questioned; was he/she placed there mysteriously?
On a professional note, we don’t have a personal problem with her/him if he/she was qualified or experienced; for all of us as humans have short comings and “BUTS”, – so on most occasions we tried hard to ignore the atrocious grammar, mispronunciations, misleading enunciations, incomprehensive semantics and puerile attitude and behavior
However what hurts us as human beings on the ‘principles of educational equality and equity’ , is to live with the reality of him/her taking home over G$160 000 and taking home as a Senior Teacher over G$ 98 000. To complicate this feeling, how fair it is on the teachers of the school, who have to teach for him/her on many occasions when he/she claimed he/she has to attend to Literacy matters? What is the head teacher doing about it? I called upon him to represent a true cause, especially if the administration is failing him. Parents are going to hold him responsible for poor passes; even though we were told he’s an excellent school administrator – now is the time to build solidarity and cohesion to cement that small hole, which is going to sink that great ship of his into a deep ocean of regret –
Financially speaking, apart from multiplying this person’s plump salary on an annual basis, there are some of him/her chosen disciples; of minimal experiences of course working in the riveraine areas in particular -. The Region has to pay these individuals on a monthly basis, extravagant sums of money for travelling to do these visits by boats, they also have to uplift their annual stipend that runs into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Simply divert the tax payer’s monies towards purchasing relevant teaching aids, curriculum materials etc, as the private schools do. For your attention our beloved Chief Education Officer and director of NCERD, its money for value. You need to understudy the situation; is it worth the while? Education must take our nation out of complete poverty. We depend on you to use the keys of education to close the gates and doors of the prisons in Guyana!
Can you imagine or at least try to for a split second that Ministry officials visit schools to check entries made in Teachers’ Record of work, class logs etc. observe demonstration lessons in literacy and they themselves are defaulters. Surely, the one eye man is king of the blind eye man’s world! I hereby challenge the Department of Education Region Two in no uncertain terms to respond to my letter by informing the public, why do we have headteachers who are they sitting ducks? They should be the ones monitoring their schools. You recommend them to Teaching Service Commission for that position and with a high degree of competence on your part. We are Guyanese; you can fool some of us for some of the time but not all the time.
On this circumspect; here’s a grand opportunity for any final year student teacher, at the University of Guyana to research Region Two’s education system. Why do the schools need Literacy Trainers to monitor the school system when there are District Education Officers and experienced head teachers, Staff Development Sessions in schools, supervisors and level heads, Level Cluster meetings and special workshops held by NCERD during the academic year and summer vacations?
I want APNU/AFC to note that “a foolish man learns from his own mistake, and a wise man learns from a foolish man.” These were the same pitfalls of the previous PPP/C administration. Why not give this same money to a needed cause? I shared empathy with my fellow sisters – school cleaners – as they plea in vain for a slim additional increase of salary for just a matter of survival when one, yes just ONE as in SINGLE individual is being fatten on our hard core tax payers’ money.
Ii is my profound hope and deepest wish that our call for educational democracy he heard and respond to by the Chief Education Officer, Minister of Education , Director of NCERD, or anyone with a human heart in authority who respects our position on this matter of urgency. We are extremely grateful for the publication of articles of this nature by newspapers that are bent on wiping malevolent issues as they surface their ugly heads above the feeble citizens of this country. I am humbly asking friends and supporters from the social media to post this article so that the seeds of change stand a better position of being germinated by the conditions and principles the Ministry of Education stands for and the expectations of stakeholders at large.
In conclusion, In the most humane manner, I am requesting once again, for all proactive educators in strategic positions with the potential to promote school effectiveness, to linger on this philosophical credence and help us to rise comfortably. As you figure it out, “The rain of failure of Literacy in Region Two, falls on the just and the unjust person; but chiefly on the just because, the unjust steals the just umbrella.”
Ms. Tessa Moore (MD)
(Former PT & FA President)

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