PERMIT me space in your letter column to highlight a few issues of national importance in our education system.
I would like to acknowledge the concerted efforts of Education Minister Priya Manickchand and her team for fulfilling their promise of releasing the National Grade Six (6) Assessment  results very early. This is a first for this exam since its inception.

But first, I must congratulate the Grade 6 students who wrote the exam. By now the cloud of anxiety and expectations, maybe even frustration, has settled and every student knows the school they will be attending in September. There will be some who are thinking they are not worthy of praise because they did not obtain a place at QC or Bishops’ or any of the ‘top’ schools. While the outstanding performers are worthy and deserving of all the praise, accolades and awards they are receiving, I want the others to know that not all doctors, lawyers, scientists, teachers, engineers, etc,  attended  those schools. So continue the hard work and burn the midnight oil and you will reap the fruits of success at a different level.

And speaking of success, kudos must go to Minister Manickchand and her ministry for ensuring the release of results was efficient. From the time of her press briefing on Friday afternoon, most regions and schools collected their results or could have accessed same online.

Unlike previous years when students and parents alike were left ‘sailing in a sea of suspense and anticipation’, she rounded up her team and ‘produced the goods’. I know Minister Manickchand, and her efforts and vision for education in Guyana can only augur well for us. She has the well-being of our education system at heart and is proactive at various ground levels. I am sure people in the system, parents, even politicians and other stakeholders would accede to this.
Yes, all is not well with our system but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Maybe one thing that can be looked at, especially for the slow learners, is writing the Grade 6 Exam in June. It is written around May/June in Barbados and other islands and it will give students and teachers more valuable and needed contact time. Also, a ‘whole’ term (August) would not be wasted, never mind what the Grade 6 teachers may say. Those in the system know what goes on, but that is for another letter.

With that I would like to touch on a very sensitive issue that few are aware of or pay little attention to: private schools.
Of course many are ranked at the top with respect to the Grade 6 results because of a few ‘facts’:
1. The ones ranked at the top accept students with not less than 75-80% at exams at the students’ previous schools (government in 99% cases)
2. The students go to school Sunday to Sunday in the majority of cases
3. Students are drilled with past exam papers
4. My favourite: The teachers TEACH as much as possible and extensively.
Now don’t misunderstand me, I’m not  against nor totally for private schools. Some are genuinely good. My son attended one for two terms and got Bishops’, credit to them. And I sent him there from one government school because of ‘fact’ 4…get my point?
What about the others? There is one at Cornelia Ida on the West Coast of Demerara, and this is not an isolated or unique case. Students are required to work from 8:00 am (maybe earlier) until 9:00 pm and later.
Students are (allegedly) subjected to physical and emotional abuse. Once a female student ‘wet’ herself in front of her class because she couldn’t work a question on the board. Others are put to stand in the sun for long periods of time. Not to mention the corporal punishment some are subjected to…swollen and bruised hands that can’t write.
Some are pelted with their books and even insulted and embarrassed with parents being the subject. Students are not allowed to play or relax ‘their way’ during their recreational time and are even instructed how to spend their time at home. And the list can go on and on…sounds trivial right? But ask the students how they feel.
This and others are some of the ‘top’ private schools. It must be asked, “Are these owners/persons really ‘teachers’? All ‘some’ have at heart is financial gains, it’s never the students. Because when their schools get passes to QC, etc, demand goes up and prices (fees) go up. Unsuspecting parents flock and beg at their doors and even get embarrassed and then turned away. The chosen set are brainwashed, for all parents want the best for their children, not knowing of even the slightest repercussions. Ever heard of mental burn out?
I dare ask, what qualifications these ‘teachers’ have, much less to own private schools? Would the want of wealth drive humans this far and to this extent?  Or is it simply ignorance and are driven by egos and self-centredness? All to  the detriment of our future adults and generations?
I once read: “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops” [Henry Brooks Adams, The Education of Henry Adams]
And there is what ‘true’ educators call ‘The Human Dimension’ to a teacher, without which you would surely fail your students as a person.
Albert Einstein once said,”It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
I write without fear or favour and because numerous parents are scared to speak due to victimisation and hope this letter opens the door to more revelations.
Thank you.