Let the decentralized system do its work!

Feb 03, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

---

Kaieteur News – The PPP believes in the principle of collective responsibility. This means that the decisions of the leadership are binding on all leaders of the party.

If a leader feels so strongly that he or she cannot live with a decision of the party, that person should resign. There is no known case of this happening in the modern era of the PPP.

This discipline of collective responsibility has been drilled into the PPP leadership both in the party and within the government. As such, it is highly unusual to find leaders of the party having public personal spats.

This week, there was one such spat on social media between two PPP/C leaders. The party has a duty to summon both persons and to decide whether the public spat is deserving of disciplinary proceedings.

The issue that triggered the spat had to do with a post relating to a controversial edict issued by the Ministry of Education concerning permission for persons to enter the school to engage with learners or to conduct activities such as donations or the distribution of gifts. A Circular from the Ministry of Education indicates that permission must first be obtained in writing from the Central Ministry, through the respective Regional Departments of Education, before such activities are allowed.

It was not the decision per se that caused the public spat but rather a response to a query by a member of the public. So, there is not necessarily a dispute over the policy decision but rather over something which was said in the blog relating to this decision.

The decision itself is creating some unease within the society. Even social media star, Teon, had to wade in and express his disappointment.

When it comes to schools outside of Georgetown, the Minister of Education has been quite clear that issue relating to the upkeep and management of those schools are the responsibility of the respective Regional Democratic Councils. It was emphasized previously that the management of the education system is a decentralized one.

Well, the recent edict by the Ministry of Education does not accord with this position of decentralization. Permission to engage with students or to provide donations or be a guest speaker at a school is being centralized. This goes against the grain of the position that the management of the education system is decentralized. But such contradictions are not unknown to the PPP/C.

The Education Ministry has a right to set standards and protocols relating to visitors to schools and activities being held within the schools. It would be incongruous to allow regional officials or the Heads of the schools to set such policies. But in establishing the protocols for the policies, head teachers could have been given guidelines upon which to authorize certain actions. No need for the Ministry of Education to both set the policy and grant the permissions under the respective protocols.

The Ministry of Education had long established a policy in relation to persons visiting schools. The policy requires that such persons would be granted entry by the Headteacher or senior member of staff. Certain requirements had to be met including production of photo identification or letter of authority issued by the Regional Education Officer/ Ministry of Education.

Therefore, there is no need for the Ministry of Education to now get involved in issuing permission for persons wishing to give donations to the school or to engage with learners. This authorization could have been delegated, as it is at present, to the Headteacher.

Why, for example, should someone wishing to present a prize at a school’s prize-giving ceremony have to get permission from the Ministry of Education? What happens if someone wants to donate something to a school in Lethem? Why should that person have to wait on approval from the central Ministry of Education?

It is understandable that many individuals and companies, in the name of corporate social responsibility, will try to use their donations to school, to boost their business and personal brands. And children need to be protected from the possibility of them being used as subtle advertising props.

But all the Ministry needs to do is set a clear policy about what is permissible and what is not in terms of student engagement and donations, set the rules and the standards and allow the headteachers to deal with the issue. There is no need for permission to be sought from the Ministry of Education.

The recent circular is not the first time that the Ministry of Education is engaged in unnecessarily trying to control what happens in all schools. One year ago, it took a bizarre decision to inform relating to school tours.

When there is a need for the Ministry to be held accountable for certain failings. It is resorting to the excuse of a decentralized system. But in other instances, it wants decision-making centralized.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.) 

---

• leaders, leadership, Peeping Tom, PPP/C, social media

---