Dear Editor,

WEDNESDAY 5th December was a very exciting and informative day in the National Assembly.

As the budget debate continued, the spotlight was placed on the education sector and it did not disappoint, with first opposition MP and Shadow Minister of Education Priya Manickchand; and then the turn of Minister of Education Dr Nicolette Henry. I was able to watch it all over the internet in high-definition, so that alone just goes to show the progressive times in which we are now living in Guyana. Shadow Minister Manickichand’s task as an opposition MP is, of course, to examine the performance of the education ministry by assessing the programmes and projects that were embarked on and those planned for the future.

However, all she could do was make unsubstantiated and quite frankly laughable statements and take credit for the government’s work. She knows that when she was minister of education she spoke a lot about doing things; but in fact, Ms Manickchand got very little done and if anything did happen, it was done with no vision of sustainability or quality for the price tag.

What caught my attention was Manickchand’s concern that the almost GYD$1.7 billion increase in operational costs would not be going towards buying “stuff” for children. However, it probably won’t all be going to buy unsustainable, flash-in-the pan, cynical and unproductive “stuff”.

As the minister of education explained, it will be going towards modernising the education system’s administrative and operational infrastructure, so our educators and children will have the tools and a modern environment they need to work efficiently. Our schools and administrative structures are in a dreadful state and need a complete overhaul; and they are just as important as other aspects of the education sector.

For Ms Manickchand to trivialise the procurement of items to strengthen the administrative and other operational arms of the ministry of education gives you an insight into this individual. This nation should not forget that is was under Priya Manickchand’s stewardship that our grade six students were getting the most appalling grades in almost all the subject areas.

Also, the MP’s shock that money was actually returned to the treasury was also very telling of the institutionalised corruption of the previous government. Returning money to the treasury is a transparent sign that something is not right and I am confident that this government will always seek out the problem and fix it in a timely manner. The minister of education delivered her speech; it spoke for itself, you can’t beat facts and the truth. What I know is that the future of our children’s education is safe in the hands of this government; the APNU+AFC administration’s vision is for us (Guyanese) to be an educated nation in keeping with what obtains globally.

Regards
Elizabeth Williams