SOME two weeks ago, the Minister of Finance addressed the officers of the various departments of Government who are responsible for making the departmental budgets which will eventually be part of the National Budget which is presented to Parliament for its approval.  Each of these departmental budgets will be discussed in detail by the Ministry of Finance so as to eliminate all imperfections.

In his address, the minister outlined the main policies and requirements which budget officers will have to take into account.  When he came to the Education Sector, he mentioned that 17.2 per cent of budgetary allocations was spent on that sector and questioned whether the Government and people of Guyana were receiving value for the money spent.  He rhetorically asked “Why, with the increasing allocations to Education, [do] less than 50 per cent of our children pass Maths and English at the CXC Examinations?”

In other words, he was indicating that the imperfections in the Education Sector could not be attributed to the lack of money. He was referring particularly to the primary and secondary education.

The minister was reflecting the sentiments of the majority of parents who feel that the school system- both primary and secondary – was shortchanging their children.  This feeling is exacerbated when the conditions and results of the private schools are compared with the Government-run schools and when the children who attend Government schools who receive private lessons do better than their class mates.  Most parents cannot afford the cost of such private lessons.

It is generally felt that children attending Government schools have their abilities stultified except they receive help outside the school system.  Many people now tend to hark back at the pre-Independence education system and claim that what obtained then was better than the present.

When Independence came, local politicians and educational personnel assumed full responsibility for the education system and in a short time effectuated three fundamental reforms which could not be faulted.  The first reform was the extension of the education system to be all-inclusive.

This was very evident in the extension of secondary education where all children could now have post-primary education, not necessarily of the traditional grammar school type:  the second was to exorcise all elitism, especially, class from the system; and the third was that technical education would be expanded.

These reforms were in consonance with the modern education theory except that the planners did not factor in the quality of education.  And the quality of education was largely dependent upon the quality of teachers.  It was the absence of emphasis on the quality of education which was the Achilles heel of the system. By comparing the pre and post-Independence syllabuses and teaching methods, we may begin to discern the ways of raising the quality of the education now provided.

In the primary schools, English grammar, spelling and reading were vigorously taught and in Arithmetic, the four rules, as well as, the addition and multiplication tables were drilled into the children.  Children were encouraged to read the Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology and children’s books and were encouraged to use the school libraries and the public library facilities.  Children climaxed their primary school career by doing the Primary School Certificate examination, the results of which were gazetted and accepted by employers.
The opportunities for all primary school children to receive a secondary education were limited, but those children who attended secondary school always did well in English and Math because of their primary school foundation.

There were only three Government secondary schools but they were well endowed, especially with their staff, who almost all, held degrees from English universities.  The other tier of secondary schools was the private ones which tended to use Queen’s College as their model, but they concentrated on their pupils passing the English secondary schools examinations and had less stress on extra-curricular activity.

Private lessons in both primary and secondary schools never existed and the pupils performed better than they do today.  Games, especially cricket and football and to some extent hockey for girls were played. Clubs such as debating and drama existed in almost all secondary schools.  Children were encouraged to read the classical novels and a foreign language, usually French or Spanish was obligatory.

At this point we have reached the prescribed limit of this offering and so, we will briefly summarise the main lessons from the past which may better our present system:  Firstly, after-school private lessons should be strictly forbidden; the responsibility of teachers to teach their charges during school hours would be evident. Secondly, the authorities as well as the parents should be more cognisant of the performance of the teachers, as much as they are concerned with the performance of children.

Thirdly, if basic English grammar and Arithmetic had not been properly taught at the primary level, then all secondary schools should have remedial classes in these subjects. Fourthly, outdoor games or membership of the Cadet Corps should be compulsory. Fifthly, clubs such as debating, drama and science should be encouraged.  Sixthly, form teachers should be in contact with parents of each child in their classes, especially if a child is absent for two days. Seventhly, the computer should be used as a teaching and learning tool.  Eightly, reading, especially of the classics and current affairs should be encouraged.