‘I get the Pythagoras Theorem and how the human body works is important, but wouldn’t you also be happy to know how to register a business?’

By Youth Perspective
Secondary school is where most of us made some of life’s best memories. It is also the place where we had to start thinking about our future and career paths. It is the place that built and formed either a strong love or strong hate for academics. We’ve spent most of our days in high school studying and waiting for that grand finale; CSEC Examinations. We were children before those examinations and we become young “adults” subsequently after. There is a small transitional period for Guyanese students after those examinations; during June-September. Those months are very confusing as you witness some friends migrating, some apply to attend a University, and some send out applications for employment while some are also forced to prepare to rewrite those examinations due to failed grades. Everybody seems to have it “figured out”—or so you think. Truth is, it is scary for everyone. We have transitioned from uniform, military-style behaviour; learning about simultaneous equations and what the powerhouse of a cell is, to becoming a young adult with responsibilities of banking, taxes, bills, applying for house lots and the whole nine yards.

This article was solely inspired by a young man by the name of Denaise. He made a Facebook post relating his concerns about this said topic. Many young people like myself can empathise because we agree. In his post, he said: “I would really appreciate if the new government (mostly the Ministry of Education) can have people from places like GRA, NIS, a bank official, etc. to drop in at high schools just for a day and teach students how to write return tax forms, how to get your TIN from GRA (the process), how to take a loan from a bank to either build a home or buy a car, etc.” Denaise continued by saying, “It sucks that I’m advocating for this now when I should’ve done it when I was in high school, now I regret it. I get the Pythagoras Theorem and how the human body works is important, but wouldn’t you be glad to know how to register a business as a young entrepreneur?” Myself and the hundreds of others who reacted and shared his post shares this sentiment and I know hundreds more will agree when you read this article.

No one is saying that the subject areas that are being taught in school are irrelevant- everything has a purpose in life and I am sure that somewhere, somehow, someone is using the Pythagoras Theorem from my high school batch. What I am actually trying to say is, those things are important but those areas Denaise listed and many more are all important for survival as a “model” citizen. We cannot preach on the importance of education but only teach what we/the curriculum wants to teach and not what the children need to learn. Young adults should also be able to learn about the importance of such tasks. Why do I need a TIN? Why should I open a savings account with the bank? Why do I need to fill out a tax return form? Teaching them the process is one thing, teaching them why is another and can be much more meaningful in the long run. Let us do better for the children of our future. I hope someone within the relevant authorities, especially the Ministry of Education views this and takes it into consideration.

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