Irregularities, discrimination and corruption and managerial deficiencies loom large in the education sector, resulting in programmes being stagnated, PNCR-1G Member of Parliament, Amna Ally says.
As she made her presentation to the Budget debate in the National Assembly yesterday, she said that many projections in the National Strategic Plan for education have not come to fruition within the given timeframe and leave much to be desired. Monitoring of education in the 11 districts has become questionable and government is not clear of where it wants to go, charged Ally. “Stop making promises, keep them,” she urged.
“Education delivery is at a low ebb,” she said, pointing to poor results and salaries. Despite many programmes and large injections of finance, literacy levels have dropped, she said, while adding that the government must examine the real problem. Pointing to the poor results, she urged the government to “stop believing that putting up buildings will improve it.”
Ally also said that the Ministry’s remediation programme is not adequate. “The time has come when we must use scientific methods to determine who benefits from the remediation programme,” she said. In addition, she said, the system of automatic promotion must be reviewed. She said that a blanket approach should not be used but individual needs should be looked at. The PNCR-1G is willing to support a professional review of the policy, she said.
The parliamentarian also referred to the low wages for teachers, the need for senior officials to have job security, inadequate furniture in schools and the growing levels of violence in schools. Further, she said, the retirement age needs to be raised from 55 to 60 years. “At 55, you are at the peak of performance,” she said.
As it relates to accountability, she noted that in last year’s budget the largest disbursement went to education but she questioned who are the beneficiaries and asked the government whether it was satisfied that it was getting value for money. She noted that there are “outstanding irregularities” that have not been rectified, pointing to several in the Auditor General’s report.
As it relates to discrimination, she said that right in the National Assembly there was such an example. She said that after Region Eight representative Dawn Hastings was named a PNCR-1G parliamentarian, instructions were given to end her employment as an Education Officer and she was sent back to the Jawalla Primary School. To cries of “shame,” Ally said that Hastings has not been paid for the time she served as Education Officer. It is unfortunate that government lacks the vision to build tomorrow’s Guyana today, Ally added, referring to the Budget’s theme.
The ordinary man
Meantime, fellow PNCR-1G Parliamentarian Cheryl Sampson said that the Budget has not provided “anything to shout about” and much more should have been allocated for the ordinary man. She said that the raising of the income tax threshold was not enough and noted the high cost of living. She spoke on child abuse, calling it a grave social ill and while referring to the dismissal of the case of the two policemen charged with torturing a 15-year-old boy, she said that someone took advantage of the poverty of the family.
In terms of domestic violence, the laws have to be enforced and police need continuous training, she observed.
Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford said that misrepresentation is the order of the day for the government’s critics. The utterance that there is nothing in the budget for the ordinary man is “most preposterous,” she said. Listing the raising of the income tax threshold, the raising of pensions and the allocations for several sectors, she asked who would benefit “aliens or ordinary people?”
In relation to her ministry, she said that 2,513 scholarships have been awarded over the last 15 years. She, however, acknowledged that the quality of service is lacking in public offices but said that they have to continue to deal with it. She said that government has been training persons, building institutions and equipping them and the onus is on the government to ensure quality of the highest order.
Further, she noted, 28 new categories of workers have been created and more jobs. More public officers have been added to the list of those eligible for duty-free concessions, she said. Westford said also that contracted workers do not get salaries different from pensionable workers. “We do not pay super salaries to contracted workers within the public service,” she said, challenging anyone to bring someone being paid a super salary to her.
Further, Westford said, it is only a few times that they get constructive criticism from the opposition and Guyanese are satisfied with the administration. “They are satisfied because of the conditions that are being provided to them by this government,” she said.
