By Alva Solomon

A CULTURE of bullyism and coercion of professionals in the tertiary education sector here has marred its delivery, Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine has said. He outlined that the education system under the previous PPP administration focused on the achievement of certificates at the expense of the education of citizens.Dr Roopnaraine made the comments during his contributions to the budget debates, which concluded on Friday. The minister cautioned that the sector is one in which both sides of the House can find common ground. He said the “stark reality” is that the education system under the previous PPP administration focused on the achievers of certificates at the expense of the education of citizens. He called on the entire nation to contribute towards the enhancement of the sector.

“Education is an area of our work in this National Assembly, over which we do not need to fight,” he said, noting that it is an area within the society where both sides can find much agreement.

“I don’t think there is anyone in this House who would argue that there is nothing more important than the formation of our young people,” he challenged. For this to happen, Dr Roopnaraine said, the effort would require active collaboration between everyone, including parents, teachers and other stakeholders.

He said Government is aware of the critical shortcomings of the education system which it inherited from the PPP administration, and pointed out a few of those areas.

Dr Rooparaine noted that there has been a neglect of tertiary education: the significant appropriations for the sector, which were far from optimum; a gap between programme rationalisation and programme implementation; also, politically motivated decision-making, and coercion and intimidation of professionals.

He said there also existed the highlighting of the stellar performances of a few in contrast to poor and declining results overall.

He said the Government’s manifesto clearly provides an unambiguous direction in relation to how the issues which exist in the education system should be remedied, and provides the central issue, which requires attention. He said Government clearly identified the creation of “a united, peaceful and developed Guyana as its core objective,” adding that the objective, or any of its component, is not achievable in a society which has not benefited from “real education.”

He explained that education, being a state of knowing and learning, engenders the appreciation of human beings; of their existence biologically and socially.
While referring to the “good life” plans of the administration for the sector, he highlighted a few areas on which government plans to focus its attention. These include meeting the nutritional and transportation needs of primary and secondary schools; retaining and recruiting teachers; reforming the school’s curriculum; reforming the schools for the teaching of ICT-selected subjects; and rescuing the University of Guyana.

RESEARCH PROGRAMME
Dr Roopnaraine said the University of Guyana (UG) should establish research programmes to determine the causal factors of ethnic and racial tensions and conflict within the Guyanese society, and to make recommendations on how to address these. This position of Government was announced by the Education Minister during the budget debates in the National Assembly on Thursday evening.

The minister noted that the APNU+AFC Government recognises the plural nature of the Guyanese society, and has determined that UG should establish research programmes to determine the causal factor of ethnic and racial tensions and conflict in the local society, and to recommend how to arrest the issue.

As regards the budget, he said that in Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s 2015 budget speech, it was projected that education must become a means to, and an end at, sustainable development. He said Minister Jordan emphasised the intended vision of the Government, wherein all of Guyana would have equal access to high-quality education and learning activities, and where education is positioned as the key intermediary: “where you lay the foundation for a competitive economy and a cohesive social environment.”

In that budget, Dr Roopnaraine said, the intention is intimated to establish a commission of inquiry into the education system with a view to locating precisely where to start in the quest to fix the system.

As he highlighted the Education Ministry’s planned approach, he noted the establishment of a national advisory council and a stakeholder forum, which would guide an education-based strategy that is based on a broad framework for education development and contextualization, among other factors.

He said that there were several areas identified for revisiting, and those include a review of the education tax grant programme, “which seem not to be serving the intended purpose.” In addition he noted the expansion of the warm meals and general school feeding programme; provision of equipment to teachers; revamping of school broads and parent teachers associations (PTA) and subsequent re-establishment of regional education committees.

He emphasised an improved service delivery to the disabled and a more enlighten approach to such persons.

The Education Minister noted that the year 2015 was a “severely truncated year” for Government and for the Ministry to carry out its mandate. He pointed out that the budget for last year was available for access only in September, and the Ministry had embarked on its plans in conformity with Government’s manifesto. Against this backdrop and in keeping with the Ministry’s action plan and view of the actual state of the education sector, a number of policies and initiatives were formulated and initiated, Dr. Roopnaraine indicated.

The Minister identified the most notable ones as the use of Grades 2 and 4 assessments, which are purely for diagnostic purposes, and the Grade 6 solely for the determination of placement in post-primary schools. In addition, the Ministry addressed the lowering of the age range for entry to nursery schools from 3 years, plus 9 months to 3 years, plus 6 months. He said the Ministry also engaged the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) to develop and administer Grades 2, 4 and 6 assessments, while building capacity of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) in that area. He also pointed out that the Ministry had developed a mechanism to ensure that Caribbean Secondary Education Council (CSEC) school–based assessments (SBAs) are submitted by January 31 each year.