DURING last week’s graduation ceremony of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) most of the speakers emphasised the need for technical hands-on education. There was a time in the past when technicians and technical education was seen as somehow inferior to education offered by non-technical schools and universities. Students who attend technical Institutions were looked down upon by those in the regular school system. Those who went to these technical schools were seen as somehow not bright enough for the normal school system, and hence there was a resistance by many students to go this route.

However, the reality is that those who go the route of technical education are more likely to start some kind of business and employ people, whereas those who complete the normal school will end up working for someone who has a technical education or perhaps very little or no education at all.
Having a degree is something that most of us aspire to. We feel very proud when we get that piece of paper. The more degrees we have the more important we feel. Sometimes it causes us to look down on those who don’t have degrees. However, after we get the piece of paper and the euphoria has died down, reality strikes and we realise that we’re often not much better off than the guy who doesn’t have a degree. We still have to apply for a job and when successful, we’ll often have to work for someone who doesn’t have a degree.
So the question is: Does our education system prepare us to go work for someone else? And perhaps it can be argued that it doesn’t even do a good job at it. In Wednesday’s edition of Guyana Chronicle it was reported that the recently opened International Franchise fast food outlets at the corner of Lamaha and Albert Streets, have fired many of its employees, including managers. The explanation given by a source at the company managing these outlets is that the managers, including senior managers were fired for non-performance.
Now that makes one think, especially when considering that employers in this country have long complained that the graduates of our various educational institutions are not ready for employment.
A new report published by the World Bank entitled “Quality education counts for skills and growth” found that although students spend on average, more than 10 years at school the quality of education offered leaves graduates, struggling to find a job.
The report says that “If the region is to boost competitiveness, the skills learnt in the classroom need to lay the foundation for future work-place success.” According to St Vincent and the Grenadines hotel manager Ruth Stevens, finding sufficiently skilled school leavers in her country is difficult, because the gap between the skills they have learnt in school and the job-market is just too wide.
She says: “When we have students that come out of the colleges and we hire them to perform certain tasks we realise that we will have to give them some form of support in terms of skills and job readiness.” According to the World Bank report, this is a challenge faced by employers across the Caribbean.
The education system we have is based on the British education system which emphasises being able to memorise textbook knowledge, which doesn’t really teach you any of the skills you’ll require in the marketplace, such as how to present yourself, how to communicate effectively, how to be creative and how to solve problems.
One of the greatest drawbacks of the current education system is that it robs students of the ability to think for themselves by requiring them to answer questions in an exact manner. Those who deviate from the standard way are unfortunately failed. The American private school system is better in this regard, as it values students’ opinions more, than how well they memorise information. Hence, students are allowed to answer questions in their own words which encourage independent thinking. By incorporating subjects such as drama, art and public speaking into the curriculum these schools also build student confidence and creativity.
Critical thinking is a value that is highly prized by employers, because it enhances creativity and problem solving, which are skills that are in very short supply in the workplace. To illustrate just how much he values this quality, Oracle founder Larry Ellison once rejected candidates with multiple degrees and experience, in favour of a candidate who quit graduate school just before his graduation.
The brilliant scientist Albert Einstein described insanity as repeating the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result. So perhaps it is time that we review our education system and if necessary replace it with a system that better meets our needs.