By Lakhram Bhagirat
Teaching is an art that many have yet to master. Teachers are our contact with the outside world, they quite often introduce us to the world through their classrooms and encourage us to dream and dream big. They instil the sense of imagination and fuel the drive in us that makes us want to conquer the world.
They share their experience in order to make us learn so that when we head out into the real world we are better equipped to take on the challenges as they come. However, one of the sad facts about classroom teaching is that it limits the amount of practical knowledge that is imparted.
When we leave school, most of us know the theories that guide our intended profession but what we do not have is the working knowledge and that is where Fazal Bacchus and his team at the Cacique Accounting College comes in.
Bacchus has been in the education business for over 25 years and has continually been trying to improve the standard and practicality of what we are being taught. As the name suggests, Cacique Accounting College provides tuition in the accounting field of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) certification.
To understand why Bacchus is successful in creating a business model that caters for those with full-time jobs, then you must understand the backstory of how he ended up where he is today.
With his current qualification as a senior member of ACCA and position as Group Chief Internal Auditor at the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), one would never believe that Bacchus dropped out of school to sell at the market.
Hailing from West Ruimveldt in Georgetown, as a child, he would spend his time between his birthplace and Albouystown with his grandmother. His life was simple and not without challenges. The earnings of his market vendor mother and carpenter father were not sufficient to take care of the entire family so when he entered secondary school, Bacchus decided that it was time that he took on more responsibilities.
This time he felt that he needed to be earning and when his mother did not approve he became rebellious. In the end, she relented and he began his career as a teenaged market vendor. He always knew that he had a knack for financials and when he came into contact with Krishna Ramdhani, he knew that it was time to pay more attention to his academic development.
“I met Krishna Ramdhani, who was a Senior Master at the Bishops’ High, and he has his school, Krishna’s College, and he told me that I needed to have an education because it could have taken me a far way. I realised then that I could have continued to work on the market during the day and plus pursue my GCE (General Certificate of Education) qualifications at that time in the night,” he said.
After completing his GCE, Bacchus took up a position in the Marketing Department of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo). Whilst there, he was offered the opportunity to attend the University of Guyana where he read for his diploma in Marketing and subsequently a degree in Business Management.
Feeling like he did not belong in the Marketing Department, where he served as the Head, Bacchus asked to be transferred to the Accounts Department where he felt at home. He then began to pursue his ACCA qualification.
Even while he was working and studying, Bacchus never stopped teaching. He taught in several fields but focused more on accounting. He taught Foundations in Accounting (FIA), CAT and ACCA.
Now at 51, he continues steadfastly in his quest to mould the future generations of accountants as they seek to realise their true potentials.
Cacique Accounting College was birthed out of the idea that one can have a full-time job and then study in the evenings so that they can advance themselves in their field. Now, at 15, Cacique has been churning out quality and competent accountants with the requisite knowledge and expertise needed for them to function in their work environment.
“The whole concept of attempting to give back to society where the accounting qualification is taught in the evening was birthed because when I dropped out of school I really got my education in the evenings. I was teaching at the Academy of Higher Learning and in 2005 myself and a few friends, we decided that we wanted to make this more of a strategy. We wanted to make sure that young people coming out of secondary school could have the opportunity to do the ACCA qualification in the evenings and that was the thrust on which Cacique Accounting College was born.”
Cacique is currently the sole gold approved tuition provider in Guyana, an accomplishment which speaks to the quality of teaching delivered at the institution. The certification means that Cacique Accounting College is specialised in the delivery of ACCA qualification and nothing else.
Bacchus credits this achievement to the fact that all of their lecturers are chartered accountants who have full-time jobs, so when they come to teach, they bring with them not only the theoretical knowledge but also the working experience of implementing everything outlined in the course modules.
“You need to give young people an opportunity who may not be privileged to have full-time studies but they still want to pursue a career and that is where we give it. That model has been working tremendously and over the last decade or so we have produced a number of accountants who are manning departments on their own and they are all across Guyana in most of the industries.”
“That is one of the great things that drives me. To see that I was assisted by someone years ago to get myself where I am today and I am trying to give that back to the young people out there. I want to make sure that opportunities are available to those who need it.”
Cacique offers evening classes on weekdays and on weekends they offer classes during the day.
Bacchus’ focus is on providing quality and affordable education for students wishing to pursue the ACCA qualification. To become an ACCA member, certain steps need to be taken and the first is having completed the FIA programme which consists of seven papers. At Cacique, this can be achieved in just 12-15 months.
After FIA, one would have to go on to CAT, which is two papers and that would be followed by ACCA, which has three components. However, once FIA and CAT are completed, the first ACCA component, which is the foundation, is eliminated and students are trained in the skills and professional components.
The ACCA qualification is recognised worldwide in over 180 counties and gives an advantage to students.
Bacchus is urging prospective students to come into Cacique Accounting College’s Kitty, Georgetown location and have a chat with management and get on the path towards becoming a chartered accountant.
