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A recent Freddie Kissoon column disappointed me
DEAR EDITOR,
I have a great admiration for Freddie Kissoon. Indeed I save many of his columns. However, every so often he writes a column which disappoints me. His continued defence of those who stayed behind in Guyana and sacrificed versus those who migrated is one such topic.
Yes, Mr Kissoon, only 25 Guyanese may have been admitted to the UWI Law Schools. And yes, there are more law places in UK law schools. But there are over 66 million people in the UK. Guyana has 781,000 according to the UN estimate for 2018. The UK is also a highly developed country with a wide range of needs for lawyers of varying specializations. Guyana is not. But, Mr Kissoon, even in the UK not all students who apply are admitted to law school. There are rejections, just as there are in Guyana.
But Guyana, like many of our West Indian neighbours, still has many people who continue to think that if you are “bright” then the only appropriate further education must be in law or medicine. I myself was asked which of the two I planned to study, and not much seems to have changed since then, as I still read of students who do well at the primary-leaving assessment stating that they want to be a doctor (or a lawyer).
But even more important than that is the assumption that I see in Mr Kissoon’s articles that those who stayed and sacrificed should somehow be rewarded by being given the important jobs now becoming available.
Mr Kissoon, the only reason anyone should be given a job is that he/she is qualified and suitable for the job. Note that I add “and suitable”. I know many people who have the certificates, but who seem never to have learned what a University is supposed to teach – to reason, to analyze, to look for facts to support any decision.
I know two senior lawyers who sat on a constitutional commission where they agreed to a preamble to the proposed constitution which stated “marriage is a union between one born biologically a male and one born biologically a female”. I asked if they were not aware that there can be babies born with ambiguous genitalia. This, mind you, was after the furore over a South African female Olympic athlete who was tested and found to have an XY chromosome, and had undescended testicles in her abdomen; which meant that she was biologically a male. However her birth certificate stated that she is a female, and she grew up considering herself a female, going through all the rites of a female in her ethnic group.
According to that preamble, she could not marry a male, because biologically she is a male; and she could not marry a female, because her birth certificate, and her whole life, said she is a female. But neither lawyer appeared to have followed the very public discussion on this case, as neither objected to that wording.
My point is, if you have the highest degrees available, and if you have made the greatest sacrifices for your country, but you have never acquired the love of learning as you proceeded through the various educational stages, and you do not read extensively, not just in your degree subject, and not just your home newspapers, you are unlikely to know what new knowledge is available.
So Mr Kissoon, if an applicant for the job made sacrifices, I would not consider that a reason to appoint that person. Of far greater importance is whether or not the individual has the knowledge required for the job and, of even greater importance, if that individual has been keeping up with developments that relate to the job.
If someone who stayed home and faced the difficult years, meets those requirements, then yes, by all means appoint that person. If the individual is one of those who acquired a qualification for the status it gives, and has done precious little to stay up to date, then no, I would not like to see that person in a senior position, however many degrees he or she has. And that applies to both the stay at home and the migrant.
Pat Robinson Commissiong
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