PRESIDENT of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), Mark Lyte is calling for a resuscitation of Community High Schools so that students who are not academically inclined could obtain skills training for employment. Acknowledging the challenges facing the education system, Lyte, like Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, believes that the system is “creaking.” In an effort to stem this downfall, Lyte suggested that the Ministry of Education “revisits” the education system by reintroducing Community High Schools.
The rationale behind this, said Lyte, is the “obvious” fact that not all children are academically inclined, pointing directly at those children who score low marks at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examination.
“We have to accept the fact that some children are not academically oriented but more practically oriented,” said Lyte.
Community High schools were geared towards providing academic and vocational training to low performance students. The schools were equipped with training resources to provide skills training to students once they are proven to be practically inclined.
In the late 1990s, many Community High Schools were converted into general secondary schools and were offering courses leading to the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).
Six years ago, under the former Administration, then Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh converted the remaining 19 Community High Schools to general secondary schools.

Stigmatised

Students who attended the Community High Schools were often stigmatised as they were often regarded as the “slugs” in society. Hence, the rationale behind the Government at that time to eradicate the system as they felt students were being isolated from the normal school system.

It is this factor, according to some observers, that has contributed to a “criminal industry” and an upsurge in school drop-outs.
“There were Community High Schools where students who are not academic are given a chance to learn about their special skills and come out better so that system needs to be brought back, ” said Lyte, declaring that the GTU will soon be negotiating the possibility of this with the Education Minister.
Aside from the Community High Schools, the GTU President suggested that there should be “transitional classes” for those students who cannot write, perhaps a one-year programme to reintegrate the students so as to fit into a regular class.
He also suggested that the Ministry should put measures in place to address the issue of large classes as this hinders interaction among students and teachers.
Under the new Administration, audit teams have been sent to schools in every region in Guyana to assess their current situation and to gain information on issues that plague them. The teams were tasked also with conducting environmental audits of the schools.
“On life support”
Meanwhile, the results of the audits have confirmed the Minister’s conviction that the system is indeed “creaking” and is on “life support”. In stemming this downfall, Dr Roopnaraine said the system needs to be equipped with new technologies for Guyana to see an actual revolution in terms of education delivery given that the schools utilise “outmoded” methods.
Just recently, Government moved to channel the last batch of 10,000 laptops from the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project towards teachers for the better delivery of curriculum in schools. The rationale behind this is to deliver the curriculum in an electronic manner and reduce daily routines as teachers will be able to carry out their respective tasks, without any hindrances.
Teachers are now upbeat about acquiring these laptops as many have deemed the initiative “laudable”, and suggested that the Government should ensure availability of Internet access once the distribution is done.
Lyte, in the meantime, commended the work of the new Administration even as he expressed the hope that Government would reintroduce Community High Schools in order to regain the high status Guyana’s education system once held during the 1960s.

By Shivanie Sugrim