A mere change of minister is not the solution to the challenges facing Guyana’s education sector

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,
This year’s published results of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE), and the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), with their respective pass rates of 63.39, 92.57 and 48.4 %, demonstrate that students writing these examinations, particularly those who wrote CAPE and the NGSA, have shown improvements in a number of subject areas.
The overall CSEC results for 2017, when compared with those for last year, were marginal, while those for NGSA were significant (pass rate of 32.28 % in 2016 to 48.4 % in 2017). They have fallen short of what was desired.
However, given the destruction of the educational system over the decades, these developments, in the view of the WPA, provide tangible evidence that decisions and measures implanted in the education sector by former Education Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine over the two years of his stewardship at the Ministry have begun to positively impact the situation.
WPA salutes the nation’s children for their success at the CSEC, CAPE and NGSA examinations, and calls on students, parents, teachers, officials and workers in the education sector to redouble their efforts to assist Guyana in regaining its place as a leader in education in the region.
The WPA believes that, given the importance of the education sector to the nation’s development, it will be a grave mistake if partisan rather than objective considerations drive the work and development of this most important national Ministry.
WPA remains convinced that a mere change of minister is not the solution to the historic challenges that have affected the Ministry of Education for decades.
These challenges are a) financial; b) structural; c) deficiencies in human resources; d) wages and salaries constraints; and e) a damaged national education culture.
These problems, given their longstanding historic presence, can only be fixed over the medium to long term.
WPA is committed to do its part in Guyana’s education drive. We therefore commit to be pro-active on educational matters in the coalition and Government.

Sincerely,
Working Peoples
Alliance (WPA)

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