Dear Editor,
Sometimes, we have to take a stand for what we believe or don’t believe. We all want to change laws, rules, policies and systems, but we must remember, it cannot be done all at once.
At home, Dr Cheddi Jagan, Mr Forbes Burnham and Mrs Janet Jagan, all of whom became presidents of Guyana, fought for freedom for the Guyanese people by breaking many British laws. Civil rights was the name of the game then; today it has a different name. Mr Cleveland Thomas, the Headmaster of Christianburg Secondary School, has taken a stand against the decision of the Ministry of Education’s ‘no repetition’ policy. I’m not a supporter of lawbreakers. The headmaster has said that he is prepared to accept the decision of the Teaching Service Commission be it good or bad because he has made a conscious decision. A change must come for the better and not for the worse.
The ‘no repetition policy’ is doomed to fail from the beginning. I attended St Aidan’s Anglican School in Wismar during the ’50s and ’60s and was aware of some students who were promoted following tests and by age, but those who were promoted on the basis of tests developed and never returned to the lower class. Today some of them, including myself, are professionals in various fields of work. Our teachers were more dedicated to their profession and the students. Teachers remained after school hours to give lessons to students who were slow learners. Today, teachers do the same outside the classroom for a small fee. Many days teacher are not at school, because they have to attend university to develop themselves.
There are children who attend school because they have no other choice. Some children prefer to walk the street instead of going to school. Am I to understand those children who cannot read or write and are showing no effort to do so must be promoted alongside those who are doing well? My answer is no! We are looking down the barrel of a loaded gun waiting to go off.
In conclusion, why do we have examinations in schools? Isn’t it to separate the weak from the strong? I’m suggesting that every teacher, every Ministry of Education employee, every mother/ father, every student view the movie Lean on Me. It’s time for change, but, in the right direction.
Yours faithfully,
Winslow Parris
