Minister Manickchand’s 45,000 schools, what about the outdated curriculum?

Jul 14, 2026 Letters

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Dear Editor,

Priya Manickchand spoke in a video that 44 schools were built. I would like to indicate to her that is not her achievement. Money is obtained from taxpayers or borrowed, contractors are hired and schools are built. That is not a feather in your cap. It is not something that you accomplished.

Now you are Minister of Local Government and you are now talking about the garbage situation and increasing fines for littering, but when you were Minister of Education you had an opportunity to help.

As minister what innovation, what transformation did you effect within the delivery of education. It was primarily academic. Nothing in it to produce a rounded education.

Let me give you an example. I was a teacher at Rama Krishna Primary School. The littering in the compound was horrible. I raised the issue with the teachers and they said it cannot be stopped.

I spoke to my students and they stopped and they started telling others not to litter.

During the 2005 flood when I volunteered and was instrumental in clearing the east coast of garbage I gave a talk to the students of golden grove primary school with regards the environment, Later a parent called me and said she littered and her son told her that Mr. Bisessar said do not litter.

I taught my children not to litter and one day I forgot and threw a paper out of the car window and my 10-year-old daughter corrected me.

I wrote many times that traffic education should be taught in school and this would save lives. I wrote that the fifth formers should be taught the traffic rules as they are the future drivers. They should be taught about defensive driving and most of all the need for courtesy as drivers. I am positive courteous actions could reduce accidents.

I see something about this in the press but I think the lessons should be much more comprehensive in the fifth forms.

Performance in Math and English is poor. We can scream and shout about how we top the Caribbean etc. but below that there is nothing to be really proud of. The president woke up from his slumber and spoke about the poor performance in these subjects. You were the minister. What did you put in place to improve performance in these two most important subjects?

You had a PR. I wrote a letter in the press saying there is absolutely no need to have a form one and two student doing 14 subjects when they can hardly read and write. I said nine subjects with heavy emphasis on Math, English, and Comprehension.

We can do without these data base subjects.  Also, our classes are big so we should have extra teachers in every Math and English class moving around giving individual attention. We should have the best teachers in form one two and three. At the end of form three a child should be able to self-study, go through the example do the exercises. The teachers stand by ready to help. Children can proceed at their own pace.

In addition, students in the upper forms should be taught how to deal with interviews, about approaching the bank, about the approach to filling forms and let’s not forget first aid and CPR.

The teacher/student ratio should be re-examined.

I believe that we have a bloated bureaucracy. I taught in three schools and hardly saw education officer. One keeps hearing about poor conditions in the yard and sanitary blocks.

What about broadcast to schools. Our students today don’t even know the national anthem much less the patriotic songs. While singing God save the queen under British rule, we still sang our patriotic songs.

So just building infrastructure is nothing to boast about. While a lot of money is being spent on infrastructure, some necessary some could be deferred, most overpriced and poorly constructed, the quality of life for the bottom half of the population has not improved. Many poor children are not in school.

We care grant delivered $232 a day. Does not even cover transportation. And this is given to the rich and poor.  What about those who cannot afford to go to the school. There is no strategy to direct assistance to the vulnerable. What about those who are not in school?  How about two more Training institutes like Guysuco? Did you not anticipate the development needs of Guyana given out oil discovery?

Most of the tax and other measures benefit the better off. I have written about this to the press. The Ministers and Presidents do not read or they do not understand or they prefer to just follow the routine. No vision No creativity.

Regards,

Rajendra Bisessar

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• Letters, Minister Manickchand, schools built, taxpayers

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