Dear Editor,
“BASE all educational efforts on building up the character of the students, and then you can confidently think of raising on it the super-structure of the curricula”, says Sai Baba.With public disclosures forthcoming from the Chief Education Officer, two former Education Ministers and the current Minister, in addition to radio/TV advertisements compliments of the Ministry of Education, it would be remiss of me not to inquire whether the new format being introduced by the Education Ministry is foolproof and above board.

Throughout the length and breadth of Guyana, within the Government’s primary schools, the relevant PTA’s had convened the respective meetings to duly inform parents of changes within the exams. Given the extended period of Parliament’s recess, a glorious opportunity has been lost for a debate on what is best suited for the nation’s children who are sitting the examination.

This, however, would have been dependent upon the Opposition’s request for a “Special Sitting”. Inclusionary Democracy at work!

Finally, with the relevant adjustments/modernization, would the examinations become easier or more complicated? Would the Grades 2 and 4 Assessments still be taken into consideration? Would biasness or favouritism be entrenched in the marking of exam papers, based on leakages, since the names of students would be written on the respective papers as a replacement of the previous identification of a candidate number? Was a mock exam done prior towards ensuring the new policy would produce the desired results and understanding by the children?

Nevertheless, I extend wishes for the best of success to all the students who are sitting the examinations. May God’s grace and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit, through His only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, be with you all now and forevermore. May God guide these young minds — the nation’s future — to be successful with their examinations!

Respectfully yours,
LESTER SEALEY