Education results and the energy and ethical sectors

Sep 09, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) results are out, and they are good. They are encouraging in some urgently needed areas, represent what we hope would contribute heavily to our future now dawning, and soaring at higher altitude.

Our top performers shine brightly, and we extend a round of applause to them, from wherever they may hail. We look on the bright side, and are impressed by the reports of improved performances in the disciplines of Mathematics and English at the CSEC level. Most importantly, and opportunistically, for Guyana’s future development in this its Age of Oil, we take special note of results from the higher CAPE level.

From the recent Ministry of Education’s news release, our young students who sat CAPE did well in Pure Mathematics, Integrated Mathematics, and the Sciences, namely, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. All things equal, and keeping our expectations within reasonable bounds, this means that we have a cohort of budding candidates for study in the fields of environmental science, engineering, geosciences, geophysics, and geology, among similar academic disciplines. To repeat the obvious, we need more qualified Guyanese in these areas, and the more of them we have, the better off we will be. Considering our huge oil discoveries, we severely lack quality Guyanese presences in our oil sector to watch out for our interests. The quicker we can get them, the more well-served we will be.

Though their readiness is still years away, we are launching these highfliers into the academic orbit, to get the most out of our oil and other mineral riches. We have to appreciate the richness of our educational talent, and both CSEC and CAPE help us in this regard. As much as the focus is mostly on those students who came out as the cream of this year’s educational crop, we are sure that there are those below the superstar level, who also did well and are worth cultivating. They must be given every encouragement and access to prepare themselves to take advantage of the rich potential that is ours in the making, once we manage ourselves right.

This is where educational achievements must go hand in hand with the ethical requirements that we must meet, must have, but which are glaringly missing in this country. The absence of a proper ethical outlook in life in Guyana has hurt us terribly. We must strive to obtain that mindset, and succeed in doing so, if we are ever going to position ourselves to tap in as a country to reap the true richness of our natural gifts. Our leaders and their comrades have largely failed us, failed to do what is right and of justice by us. Our young students, the leaders of tomorrow, must be different. Our professionals in the public service and private sector have mostly been about their own interests, with the result being that country and expectant citizens have been injured, and left in a dreadful state.

It would be heartening if our young students, the budding leaders of tomorrow, could develop a state of mind, that emphasises ethical considerations as highly, if not higher, than their primary academic visions and pursuits. We need a break from the past, from what we have in the present, where the self-enriching has been the norm, the misuse of power, and misconduct in the performance of duty have all transformed into an unacceptable national culture. It is why we find it timely, in the midst of the joys and celebrations over what is clearly respectable academic performance at the Secondary level, to shine some light on our desperate need for a class of students, graduates, professionals, and contributors, who are about what is principled and honourable.

When those are coupled to their likely higher University records to come, then this country stands a chance of being in a better place. We can be business oriented, and cash conscious, but those cannot be the be all and end all of our presences and our work. As we congratulate our youngsters, we urge them to move forward on the twin tracks of academics and ethics, so that Guyana can be good, if not great.

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