Dear Editor,

PLEASE provide space in your upcoming publication for us to offer our appreciation to the Ministry of Education for the swift response to a letter expressing the concern of us in the Greater Toronto Area in a letter signed by Ramnarine Sahadeo and others about the delay in announcing CSEC/CAPE results. (KN and GT Feb. 4, 2021)
Our appreciation also goes out to the section of the media that contacted the Education Ministry regarding the concerns of all the stakeholders which should not be limited to students. We hope it is now clear that many others in the Diaspora have a genuine and personal interest in the entire process and will be looking for regular updates.
Unfortunately, this letter by the GTA signatories was not published by some sections of the media. We hope some reassessment of their current policies will permit them to carry out their basic role in matters of great public interest irrespective of what the competition prints. We consider them a powerful source of persuasion and information even if unelected.

WHO ARE STAKEHOLDERS?
Swami Aksharananda, who initially brought this matter into the public forum is one stakeholder. Even though he is the principal of one school, he has a genuine interest in education standards nationwide. Another is Jerome Khan who was quite active with the educational efforts when he was in Canada in the 1990s before he returned to Guyana. We regret to learn from his very sensitive article about Parliamentary ethics that he is now learning to walk and breathe again, a result of the dreaded COVID-19 disease. We take this opportunity to wish him a complete and speedy recovery. Others include the late democracy hero, Randy Depoo. This leaves us with men like Geoff DaSilva who has the knowledge and experience to bridge the gap between the diaspora and those back home. (KN Feb.7 Unite the Diaspora and Guyana…) Lastly not to be forgotten is our own, Ramnarine Sahadeo, who is always in the front line when initiatives and guidance is wanting in those areas in which he has knowledge and is of public interest.

No wonder he was nicknamed “Father of the Adopt a Guyana School” programme in the 90s for among other activities writing a booklet how to go about the process. Eastern Leguan Primary was the first beneficiary in 1992. When he returned to Canada he organised other groups and even wrote a booklet “A guide to adopting your Guyana School”. We know there are countless others who should be “stakeholders” but live all across the globe. We at Democracy Watch 2020, an ad hoc, apolitical group in Toronto, some of whom signed the letter, applaud the efforts of everyone involved in this campaign to release those 2020 exam results without any further delay and we call the upon the Ministry of Education to keep pressing the CXC Council on this urgent matter and to continue reporting to the expanded list of stakeholders, and all educational institutions in the country until this issue is fully resolved.
While we are advised that this matter is within the functions of the CXC council alone, we wonder what would an independent country like Guyana do for its future labour force, if another two months go by without closure.

R. Singh for Democracy Watch 2020