Redundant records versus knowledge to students in Schools

May 07, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
There could be no denial that the Public education system is not delivering to expectation. The rush by parents in the lower income bracket to enroll their children in private schools is testimony of their lack of confidence in the Public Education System.
In 2017, the Government rather than try to improve the standard of Public Education pursued a policy of applied VAT on private education as a method of persuading the less fortunate parents to put their Children through the public system.
Some may argue otherwise but I don’t see the expectation of collecting $400 million on taxing private education in a budget of over $100 billion for 2017 as anything other than a policy to get parents to send their children to public Schools—considering that it was the PNC in a previous era that had coined the phrase “education molds a nation”. That tax has been rescinded by popular demand.
Parents are cognizant of the fact that only people with the good jobs can enjoy, or come closer to enjoying any semblance of a good life in Guyana-the huge disparity in pay between the gutter cleaners and clerical workers paints a vivid picture. Parents are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice—pay for their children to have a good education.
The slide in Public education was gentle but visible. As the work load pertaining to records increased on teachers, it seems the instruction to the pupils decreased. It has reached a point now where the records are more important than the instruction of the children. The two organizations in the Ministry of Education (Regional Dept of Education and NCERD) that ensure teachers comply are always vigilant in the collection and storage of records.
Added to that, the department of education and NCERD and school heads are swift to cite teachers for dereliction of duty, requiring teachers to write a letter or letters explaining their failure to comply. Teachers are of the opinion that most of the records teachers are required to keep are redundant. The Dept. of Education and NCERD both seem to require some of the records done differently—it is monotonous and confusing to teachers and shows a lack of coordination between the two policing groups.
Rule number one-Lesson plan is a must. Teacher could be fired for not having it on a daily basis. It should not be written at School.
Who is there to police that? Why should teachers do something that they detest in the comfort of their homes? They wouldn’t mind taking some test papers home to mark occasionally, because the children matter. If for some reason a teacher does not get to teach because of sports or some other activity, the lesson plan is invalid for the following day, the teacher has to write a new plan just for the sake of changing the date on the lesson plan—this is torture.
Teachers who have been around since the good old days are praying for their time to retire because they hate being buried in records, instead of imparting knowledge to students as they were accustomed to doing, back in the old days. There was a time when school heads taught occasionally. Not anymore! The volume of records they have to keep, they cannot find time to teach, despite delegating some to senior teachers.
While the teachers should be enjoying July/ August holiday, they have to produce a scheme of work for the next School year. This is rubbing salt into their wounds. The Ministry has to know if teachers are traveling overseas for the holiday. For teachers to complain might be seditious. The parallel market for labor has nothing to offer.
Rather than stultifying themselves in ascertaining the correctness of all these redundant records, Department of Education and NCERD should sit down and decide what should be taught to our children at every level and pass it on to Schools.
They should set tests at intervals to find out how well the curriculum is being delivered. Why demand a lesson plan from the teacher daily? They have been taught the concept of teaching at CPCE. Spare them the time and monotony of writing about all manner of objectives (lesson plan) at School or home on a daily basis.
A lesson plan is not a sign that a teacher is prepared to teach, it is an insult to the teacher’s intelligence. School libraries should be stocked with all kinds of books, comics, fiction, nonfiction and subject books and great emphasis should be placed on reading.
Our children are leaving School without knowing to read. Some who can read find it difficult to understand what they read. They are unable to create mental images in their minds. There should be essay competitions for every grade, every term of the School year. The ability to read and write will improve performance in all subject areas.
Rudolph Singh

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