I AM not personally acquainted with our Minister of Education, Madam Priya Manickchand, but I do admire the courageous way she approaches her mandate. That aside, I am perplexed at the level of intellectual debauchery on the part of some who have recently risen to criticise Minister Manickchand after she raised concerns as to why congratulations were not forthcoming from the opposition, particularly APNU and its leader Brigadier David Granger, to the top students who were recognised by the Caribbean Examinations Council recently and duly rewarded for their efforts and achievements. Incidentally, these students all happened to be from one ethnic grouping which raises even further questions of the actions of APNU, the acronym incidentally for A Partnership for National Unity.

This concern is justified and might I say scandalous, when consideration is given to the fact that the APNU and Mr. Granger not only congratulated and honoured the National Grade SIx Assessment (NGSA) top student in 2011, who happened to hail from the mining township of Linden, but also placed this child on their political platform during one of their pre-election rallies, while they berated the government and its education system. Where, were all these vocal critics of Minister Manickhand? Were they out of the country, or is it that APNU is held to a different standard in their minds and putting a child on a political platform is ok, when it comes to the Opposition, but if any PPP/C government official ever dares to expose the inconsistency of the Opposition on such issues, they are attacked from several quarters and efforts made to beat them, figuratively speaking, into submission?
Incidentally, I am from Linden so I vividly remember the spectacle of that particular day. How ironic was Mr. Granger facilitating this young child he placed on his political stage for excelling and being the first Lindener to emerge the top student and at the same time accuse the PPP/C Government of doing nothing for education, particularly in Linden. From what I read in the press, he continues with this charade, but in closing, I am reminded of a Martin Luther King, Jr. quote, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Congratulations to all our students who excelled and for those who fell short this time around, please be reminded that there is always a second chance to excel once you remain purposeful and ambitious.

PATRICE HARDING