Boosting the education drive

Jan 25, 2018 Editorial

The responsibility of educating the citizens of our nation has been placed squarely on the shoulders of the government of the day. Successive governments have gladly accepted this responsibility and have even used education initiatives they have implemented as evidence of the effectiveness of their leadership.
Yet it is evident that the business of educating our nation’s citizens effectively cannot be adequately addressed by the services provided solely by the government. The enabling environment must be created to facilitate widespread involvement on various levels in the different dimensions of the education system, from the fashioning of relevant policies to the support of day-to-day operation elements.
The needs are simply too great and the scope too expansive to be fulfilled with the limited available material and human resources provided by the government. In some quarters, convincing arguments have even been proffered that government should not be expected to shoulder the full responsibility of educating the nation; instead, it should be a shared undertaking which includes and ultimately benefits everyone.
Although we have had varying levels of engagement with non-governmental entities, the role of civil society in education has not been clearly defined in Guyana. Various NGOs, corporations, private organisations, groups and citizens have stepped up to provide a range of educational services at various times in our relatively short history.
They have supported a wide range of education initiatives which are obviously too numerous to chronicle here. Of late, attention has been given to the contributions to transportation, school supplies and the STEM education agenda, while in the past teacher awards, special needs education, school feeding and education delivery are merely a few areas that benefitted from the involvement of civil society.
Countless local and international entities have contributed in ways that have not been publicly recognized. If one were able to quantify these over time however, it would be noted that these initiatives have collectively had a significant impact in supporting the initiatives of the Ministry of Education.
Much of this has occurred for the most part on an ad hoc basis with entities and individuals, mostly of their own volition, opting to step up to fill recognized gaps within the system. This indicates a willingness on the part of civic-minded individuals to actively participate in this critical developmental endeavor.
It would therefore behoove us to establish a formal mechanism through which the ethos of collective responsibility for education could be fostered. A culture which encourages corporate entities and other individuals of means to internalize and appreciate their civic responsibility, benefits the entire society. The education system provides a “ready and fitting environment” to inculcate such a culture.
Some countries have pursued well-structured public-private partnerships, some have mechanisms for levies and tax-breaks, while others hold periodic engagements with civil society to encourage and outline specific avenues for participation.
In Guyana, a number of areas lend themselves easily to such structured involvement; on a macro level, Technical and Vocational Education and Training, the STEM education agenda and Education for Sustainable Development readily come to mind.
There can be a multiplicity of options however that would even accommodate individuals with relevant skill-sets contributing their time to structured educational pursuits. NGOs have been known to make inroads in areas where governments have been hard-pressed to find success and should also be strongly encouraged to support education initiatives.
Such engagements lead to a greater appreciation of the policy directives and provide the basis for improved communication and linkages between civil society and governmental agencies. More importantly, it facilitates the collaboration and social cohesion that are critical elements in effective and sustainable development.
If the statement “education is everybody’s business” is to be more than simply a cliché, strategic steps must be taken to transform this from concept to reality for the benefit of the nation.

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