THE Government has condemned the “appalling behaviour” of Opposition Leader David Granger whom it invited to speak at the recent Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) graduation, but who “shamelessly” used the occasion and opportunity for “partisan and cheap politicking”.

The Government, in a statement, reiterated its commitment to working together with any and all persons who are interested in taking Guyana forward.
To this end, and in good faith, the government said it extended an invitation, through the Ministry of Education, to Mr. Granger to deliver the ‘charge’ at the graduation of teachers from the CPCE on Tuesday, December 18, 2012.
“One would have expected Mr. Granger to do what any other decent, patriotic person would do and what is usually expected of a person delivering a charge at these types of functions and use the occasion to inspire the new teachers to reach to new heights and deliver their curriculum and perform in a manner that would be best for our students to take our dear land of Guyana forward.
“Contrary to that expectation, Mr. Granger shamelessly used the opportunity for partisan politics,” the government lamented.
It noted that Granger was critical of a system that he knows has seen marked improvements over the years, improvements which took the education system from one that was in shambles to one that is constantly being improved on.
The government contends that, in omitting to recognize the great strides that have been made in the education system, Mr. Granger painted an unfair and unreal picture of the education system.
“The calls made by the opposition leader are ironic,” the government declared, saying Granger cannot claim not to know of the awful state that the education sector was in under his party’s watch, nor can he claim now not to know of the tremendous improvements made under the PPP/C government.
In a 1991 World Bank report, the following facts were presented about the education system under the watch of Mr. Granger’s party, “the education system is facing serious difficulties. There is a shortage of trained and dedicated teachers brought about mainly by low pay scales. A large proportion of the substitute and temporary teachers are under qualified. Physical facilities require significant rehabilitation, maintenance and repair. Teaching aids and reference materials are lacking and textbooks are insufficient or antiquated at all levels. The result is that the proficiency levels in primary schools is very low with the detriment that this is contributing to insufficient levels of preparation for secondary and tertiary levels. Compounding the situation is an ineffective organization at the regional level which has failed to seek improvements in rural education and has let the facilities deteriorate. The key constraint to better education has been inadequate funding…..”
It was this pit that the PPP/C government said it had to dig the sector out of, and that has been the effort, which has been mostly successful, ever since the party has been in office.

GOV’T PROUD OF EDUCATION RECORD
The government said it “remains proud of its record in education”.
“Evidence of Government’s dedication to improving the sector can be garnered from financing in our yearly budgets with 13.7% of the total budget and 4.6% of our whole GDP being dedicated to the sector in 2012.”
This is similar to previous years under the PPP/C administration. When this is compared to 1.6% of the budget and 1.1% of GDP expended during the tenure of the last year of Mr Granger’s party in office, one can truly question the sincerity of Mr. Granger’s expressed interest, the government argued.
The PPP/C Government said it has moved the percentage of trained teachers from about 45% under the tenure of Mr. Granger’s party to over 70% now. Additionally, Guyana has been recognised internationally as having attained the Millennium Development Goal of having Universal Primary Education.
“We are on our way to attaining Universal Secondary Education. For the first time in our history we have more than 22 dorms that allow more than 2,000 students from the hinterland to access education every day,” the Government stated.
“And we have extended our teacher training services to almost all the Regions of Guyana to allow for equal access to persons from the hinterland and for equality in development. We have the highest enrolment in the sector and the best results than any time before in our country’s history,” it added.
“This year, the Government of Guyana invested $800M in teachers’ education. This year, the CPCE graduated the largest batch of students since it’s inception. Thanks to constant investment by the PPP/C government, this year history was made when the first batch of 197 students graduated from the Associated Degree in Education Programme,” the government said.
The Associate Degree in Education (ADE) was created especially to allow teachers to become graduates in the shortest possible time.
The government said Mr. Granger cannot pretend that he does not know that the students to whom he spoke are the first batch and that this programme allows the students to seamlessly move into the University of Guyana. “So what he advocated for is already happening,” it said.
“Indeed, this appalling behaviour by the Leader of the Opposition really brings into question the sincerity of the opposition to work together. Here was a golden opportunity to work together to inspire a whole new batch of teachers to go into our nation’s classrooms and teach and inspire our students so that they could take our country to new heights.
“This opportunity was grasped by the governing party in office. The government invited Granger to speak. This was an effort to give meaning to the pledges to work together. Instead, sadly and disgracefully, this forum was used for cheap politicking by an opposition who clearly cannot be trusted,” the government stated.
It said it leaves one wondering, “How were the students ‘charged’?”
Instead of inspiring the teachers to make a difference to the next generation, the government accuses Granger of using the occasion instead to make unrealistic promises that he cannot keep.
“The constant breaches of trust and reneging of positions agreed on by the opposition leaves much to be desired in any quest to work together,” the government asserted.
“It would be hard to believe that working together and inclusion is what the opposition really wants after this cheap politicking by Granger and, in that regard, it may well be a waste of time to extend any further, such, invitations in the future,” the government statement concluded.