Education sector improved

TIMES INT'L

Dear Editor,

A sound education is the gateway to a productive future. A nation of educated people collectively working for the good of that country will no doubt propel itself towards national development. Nonetheless, in Guyana’s post-1992 education system, only 34 per cent of children were formally enrolled in schools up to the secondary level. This means that over 60 per cent of children of school age were not allowed to complete secondary schooling.

Since 1992, all this has changed. Through the building of many new schools and training of teachers in different fields, the current government has improved the circumstances of the education system considerably. Today, over 90 per cent of school children are formally enrolled in secondary schools, and attend classes up to the CXC level. The CXC passes for grades one to four have also risen from 47.2 per cent in 1992 to 85.8 per cent in 2010. This is significant; Guyana has come a long way in educational development.

Nevertheless, there still abounds lawlessness at the highest levels of the school system, encompassing the length and breadth of Guyana’s entire education sector.

It is simply unacceptable that 47 per cent of Guyana’s Mathematics teachers are under-qualified to teach this subject. This is also the case at Guyana’s highest institution of education, where any survey would reveal that over 80 per cent of UG lecturers are only first degree holders, and are under-qualified to teach their respective courses.

The importation of Math and Science teachers is understandably a last resort for the government, until the situation can be corrected and more local teachers can be trained in these specific fields. Were teachers trained and qualified in these areas, this problem would not have existed.

The important thing, nonetheless, is not to worry about “what if”, but to work with “what is”. And “what is” in Guyana is a struggling education system. UG’s problem is of mammoth significance, giving that the problem in Guyana’s education system must be addressed. The current government has already proven its commitment to the education sector, but there is still a lot of work that has to be done.

Yours sincerely,

Raymond Edward

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