…says prior to 1992, Guyana’s education system was ‘a national disgrace’
THE Ministry of Education has categorically rejected the distortions of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) presidential candidate David Granger at the Presidential Candidates’ Discourse held at the University of Guyana on Wednesday last.
The ministry, in a statement, said it views the claims by Granger that the government, in the past 19 years, has damaged the education system as a brazen attempt to “rig the truth” and cast aspersions on the tremendous developments in the sector during the past 19 years.
“The APNU presidential candidate ought to be reminded that 19 years ago, when the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) came into power, the country’s education system was a national disgrace,” the statement from the ministry contended.

“The physical infrastructure was in total disrepair; almost all the schools were in a dilapidated state, posing grave danger to our children; furniture was in short supply with political affiliation rather than needs determining supply.

“All school essentials, including chalk, teaching aids and supplies were limited. Teacher shortage was more noticeable than at any time in this country; equipment for technical and vocational education was almost non-existent and low salaries for teachers was the order of the day. There was also a high drop-out rate among students.
“This general depression in the education sector was translated into disgraceful results at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). Guyanese students performed the worst among all Caribbean students taking the examination.
The statement continued:
“Who has destroyed the education system? Granger, who was a senior functionary in the PNC regime, should know that it was under the government that he propagated that children were kept out of school to look after their younger siblings, while their mothers joined food lines that stretched for blocks. It was during that period of ‘empty rice pots’ that the culture of children selling cigarettes and sweets on the streets evolved. What moral authority does Granger have to speak about school drop-outs? The school drop-out rate is a concern to the ministry, and considerable attention has been placed on addressing the problem. In fact, the ministry has managed to reduce the drop-out rate by 50 per cent at both primary and secondary schools in the last five years. The drop- out rate today is 5.5 per cent at the secondary level and two per cent at the primary level.   
“One wonders what the retired brigadier means when he said he will make Guyana an education nation again, as Guyana was never an education nation under the PNC. In fact, the PNC succeeded in ruining the quality education system this country inherited from the British Government. The rebuilding of the destruction started 19 years ago. Today, the education system has come a far way from the abysmal state it was in 1992.   

EDUCATION BUDGET KEEPS GROWING

“Under the current administration, the education budget has been increasing astronomically, moving from under $1B in 1992 to $24B in 2011, an increase of 2330 per cent.
“Guyana has achieved universal primary education and is on the verge of achieving universal secondary education. The enrolment rate at the nursery level is about 85 per cent and there are more trained teachers in the school system.
“In addition, teachers’ salaries have been increasing steadily over the years.
“Teachers’ minimum wages have increase from $3,100 in 1992 to $39,000 in 2010, an increase of 1188.5 per cent, while maximum wages moved $8,780 to $189,000, an increase of 2052 per cent.
“In fact, the recent salary agreement brokered by the Guyana Teachers Union and the Ministry of Education was deemed a giant leap by a figure no less than the union’s president, Mr. Collin Bynoe.
“Some 900 schools across the country have either been built, renovated or repaired; there are now 10 functioning satellite teachers training colleges outside of Georgetown, compared to three in 1992; almost all schools now have proper furniture and supplies; modern equipment is now evident in all schools; schools throughout the country are now being equipped with computers; school feeding programmes and uniform programmes targeting poor families have been introduced; almost all schools have sports gear; more schools have been built and every child is guaranteed a secondary education, unlike under the former administration where this opportunity was available to only 35 per cent of students. Where is the destruction in the education system?
“The billions of dollars the government has invested in the sector, year after year, have resulted in more students completing secondary school; our students are performing significantly better at the CSEC examinations. Overall passes in Grades One to Three have improved by 42 per cent in the past 19 years. Guyana produced the top student at CSEC this year, and has done so for the fifth time in past six years. Guyana has also produced the best science student in the Caribbean, an award it has won for the past six years. That’s not all; this year Guyana has won 16 of the 28 CSEC awards. At the 2011 National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), more pupils for the country schools have made it into the country’s top one per cent at the examinations this year, compared to last year. This achievement is a positive indicator that the government is making laudable progress in the quest to achieve equity in education. Aren’t these achievements reflective of progress in the education sector?
MORE TRAINED TEACHERS NOW IN SCHOOLS

“Today, there are more trained teachers in the school system. The number of trained teachers has increased from 46 per cent in 1992 to over 70 per cent in 2011, and with the introduction of the Associate Degree Programme at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), the ministry is hoping to have all teachers in the school system trained before 2016.
“Today, also, students enjoy better physical infrastructure and access to education from the nursery to tertiary levels, a university Campus in Berbice has been constructed, a learning channel has been introduced on television, and poor families will not be left behind in this technological age. They will benefit from the One Lap Top per Family Programme, and heightened emphasis is being placed on technical and vocational education to name a few of the land mark achievements under the current administration.
“The ministry does not intend to get into any “tit for tat” with  Granger, but wishes to re-state that the government is committed not only to the development of UG, but to tertiary education as a whole.
“Our progress in education has been growing from strength to strength and has been recognised by several international organisations.
“Notably, the 2007/2008 United Nations Human Development report has ranked Guyana among the highest developing countries in the education index. The report placed Guyana 37th in the world, third in the Caribbean, after Cuba and Barbados, and second in South America after Argentina.  
Earlier in the year, World Bank Education Sector Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean Region, Dr Chingboon Lee, at the launching of the Guyana Teacher Improvement Project, lauded Guyana’s efforts to address weaknesses in the area of teacher education, and by extension, quality education delivery in the school system.
“She remarked, ‘The government has been walking the talk’.
“Despite these developments and acknowledgement of progress in the sector, no one will disagree that more has to done, but it must be made abundantly clear t
hat no uneducated statements or verbal gymnastics from Granger and detractors can deflate the significant strides that have been made to modernise and raise the standard of education delivery in this country, under the current administration.