SINCE THE PPP/Civic gained power in 1992, teachers were liberated from the shackles, bondage and  perpetual fear.
Prior to 1992, teachers and students were compelled to attend all rallies and national events. This  situation augmented whenever the then presidents and ministers visited the Region.
Teachers and students were cooped in mechanically ailing government trucks and had to endure long waiting  hours until the truck drivers imbibed enough alcohol before they were ready to return. We had to march in  broiling sun, and sometimes heavy downpours. Teachers who failed to attend had to submit written excuses and  Head-teachers who failed to muster the mandated number of students had to answer questions. In Region Two,  teachers were dismissed and some transferred for noncompliance. Thanks to the PPP, never a day we were asked to  attend or take students to make up crowds.
In 1983, the then Regional Chairman forcefully introduced a few chapters of Mass Games. Secondary schools  were affected for the whole term. You had to take students to practise, and you had to find your own meals and  transportation. The situation was made worse whenever the PNC party held its Regional Congress. Teachers and  students had to attend the opening session, participate in their exhibition, and attend their fun-day (Fund-day  ) on the Monday. Furniture from school had to be given for their Congress. Academic teaching was virtually nil  during the Congress.

In addition to these, one subject we had to teach was Ideological Education. This was primarily based on  the PNC’s politics. The Mirror Newspaper was seen as  subversive literature, and could not be seen by teachers  in school.
The pittance teachers received for salaries saw an exodus, and a  refusal of young people to join the  teaching profession. In order to entice teachers, CPCE had to reduce its entry criteria to ground level. That  was the origin of having square pegs in round holes, and a steep decline in our education system. Today, many of  those underqualified teachers hold administrative positions and cannot effectively manage our schools.
The free text book policy further maimed our education system. There were never adequate books for each  student so they had to share. This was the nursery plot for the decline in our students’ inability to read. Now  with the PPP/C schools are inundated with resource materials. In many schools we have more books than students.  In the PNC’s rule, schools were not given Grants and teachers had to be involved in ongoing fund -raising  activities to repair buildings, purchase and repair furniture, books and find money to send teachers to attend  workshops. Parents refused to attend PTA meetings because their sole purpose was to donate money to run the  schools and participate in fund raising.
In many schools teachers had no chairs to sit on and buildings were death traps. Overflowing pit-latrines were  the order of the day and students had to make donations to pay charwomen and sweepers. Teachers even had to use  locally made clay chalk.

Many times students collapsed and regurgitated water instead of food particles. Flour was banned and many  students had water and rice for breakfast. First aid kits were never available. Hunger as we know it is an  impediment to learning.

With the PPP/C,  Guyanese students are not saying any longer “the cow jumped over the moon” but now our teachers  and students are landing on the moon like Neil Armstrong.

Do we want to go back to those dismal, threatening and retrograded days ? Surely not !!