…says assessment of impact ongoing
Minister of Education Shaik Baksh has said that the Ministry is in the process of conducting a study to assess the impact of extra lessons, while he defended the stand taken against the practice on school grounds. The Government, he said, will not stop parents from seeking that additional tuition in what he called a competitive environment.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Thursday, the Minister was at the time responding to questions posed to him by GAP/ROAR Member of Parliament, Everall Franklin. Franklin asked the Minister whether he was aware that the curricula of many secondary schools cannot be possibly fully accommodated and completed within the school’s timetables, and thus “students have to resort to extra lessons to complete the required syllabuses.”
Baksh has said that extra lessons are a parental choice, pointing out that some parents want to be doubly assured that their children will perform well at their examinations.
Baksh also told the National Assembly that heads of secondary schools have assured him that the school’s timetable adequately covers the syllabuses offered.
Franklin had also asked if the Minister will agree that due in part to the information that he gave, secondary education is not free in Guyana.
But on the issue of whether education is free in Guyana, Baksh declared in the affirmative, pointing out that the Government provides free education from nursery to secondary schools, in addition to providing free text books and school uniform to students.
He said too that education at all Government technical institutes and learning centres is free of cost, and the University of Guyana is heavily subsidized.
Baksh stressed that there is a difference between the curriculum and the syllabus. He explained that the syllabus is just a part of the curriculum, specifying the content to be covered as defined by objectives.
“The curriculum is broader in focus with guidelines for teaching strategies, recommendations for the use of various learning resources, and suggested evaluation techniques, among others.
“The general secondary school is of five year duration; and at the end of the period, students write the Caribbean Examinations (CXC),” Baksh explained.
He said that the syllabus for each subject is defined by CXC, and schools are expected, within the five year, period to adequately prepare students for the examination. He said that the syllabus for each subject is broken down into year programmes which are further broken down into three terms.
“The curriculum provided by the Ministry of Education is just a guide and schools are required to adopt it to their peculiar needs.
“The school then determines the quantum of work to be covered by students and hence the nexus between completion of curriculum and extra lessons is an unfair comparison,” Baksh informed the National Assembly.
He disclosed that some schools do make adjustments to their timetable to ensure their syllabuses are completed within the school year.
The Minister also conceded that that there has been a shortage of teachers in a few specialized areas, notably in science subjects; and part-time teachers are hired to address this problem where it arises.