-envisages contracting out of administration
The Saint Stanislaus College Board of Governors is developing a five-year educational plan for the school, which it says can be a model for private-public partnerships to transform secondary education in Guyana.
A working document, “Private/ Public Partnership towards Trans-forming Education in Secondary Schools,” which proposes to the Government to have increased private involvement in the management and financing of education in Guyana, will be the focus of a workshop to be hosted next Tuesday to develop the plan. This is among the aims of the College’s first ever international reunion, which will run from August 16 to August 22.
According to the document, the proposal will not lead to an increase in government spending where running of the institution is concerned but will make available already allocated resources to be channelled as the School Board sees fit, all the time ensuring that the school curriculum is fully respected. “This proposal suggests there is a space to be occupied by a strong private-public partnership, which lies somewhere between the two extremes of a fully operated public school and a fully operated private school,” it explains. It adds that it is not the only solution to financing education in a small economy nor does it address other issues affecting the education system such as teacher migration. “The proposal provides a means by which the private sector and private groups can participate meaningfully in the educational system in the time and circumstances in which they have a comparative advantage. It allows for a redistribution of the already high public spending in the education sector to targeted areas determined in partnership with the private sector and groups that have vested interests in the improvement of education,” it says.
It notes that there has been a continued increase in public spending on the educational system in Guyana, with public spending for 2009 projected to reach $20.4B (8.5% of the GDP), covering continued infrastructural improvement (usually via donor funding), teacher salaries as well as subventions for the administration of schools. According to the document while monies allocated in the national budget towards education is substantial and more than twice the average in the Caribbean, the average spending per child (approximately US$350/ child/yr) is very low when compared to that spent on the average child in other parts of the Caribbean (cfUS$3,000/child/year in Barba-dos). Further, it says the cost for making preparations for a child to enter the working environment has reached a threshold level that it says has not been achieved in Guyana.
The document states that there are a number of reasons which may be responsible for this, including the small size of the economy as well as the competing areas for public spending. In this regard, it notes that the problem is addressed via the establishment of private schools, private lessons for students as well as through the holding of fund raising activities by such schools. Also, the current education system is augmented with private lessons which at the end of the day, remain an additional financial burden on parents, hence the accessibility of quality education for all remains a concern especially for those children with very good academic potential but who, with limited financial resources, are unable to pay for private education of ‘extra lessons.’
The proposal seeks to ensure that the school curriculum is fully respected, ensuring that its application is reinforced through focusing the efforts of teaching staff on carrying out their teaching duties, which will result in a reduction of administrative duties some categories of teachers are made to undertake.
Among the proposals are:
-the Ministry of Education (MoE) concessions out the administration of the school, through a formal contract with a private entity, identified by the School Board, that has a vested interest in the educational institution. The contract will be supervised by the School Board, which has overall accountability to the MoE for the operation of the school.
-the School Board will undertake to find the resources by which the school can be adequately and successfully administered
-the MoE authorizes the Board to develop and negotiate a means by which the physical plant of the school can be improved and maintained to the satisfaction of the Ministry. This may be through, the document notes, a formal relationship with a private entity, establishment of an endowment fund, or through full authorization over the system of all aspects of the management of the physical plant
Recognizing that the control of education delivery for public schools in Guyana lies solely in the hands of the MoE, it is proposed that the MoE authorize the School Board to apply innovative means by which students can be provided with safe and effective after-school learning spaces supervised and facilitated by board-selected members of the teaching staff of the school. It also noted that the proposals mentioned can only be applied where there is a strong presence of the private sector and civil society and may not be suitable for the entire public school system.
The workshop will be chaired by Dr. David Singh, alumni and board member, and will include presentations by all stakeholders involved, including the school’s alumni in Barbados and Toronto. An Opening Assembly is scheduled for August 17 at the school, at 9 am.
