The Ministry of Education will carry out “raids” at schools in an effort to combat gangs in educational institutions.
Minister Shaik Baksh warned that those guilty of gang violence or having weapons in their possession will be punished and even face expulsion. His comments came after parents expressed concern at the presence of gangs at the Leonora Secondary School during a meeting on Friday. Baksh said that that the school will be one of those where sudden searches will be carried out to ensure that students do not have weapons in their possession. Region Three Chairman, Julius Faerber had recalled that on one occasion the police had to be summoned to the school in relation to the gangs.
A parent had asked about spot checks on students to ensure that the smaller children are protected from gangs and that no weapons are being brought to the school. She had noted that many parents are single-parents and sometimes cannot check their children’s bags all the time. Baksh said that the spot checks will be carried out without prior warning to the schools where gangs pose a problem. He noted that the situation in Guyana is not as severe as that in other countries and pointed out that the Ministry is working to combat this. In a larger context, he also pointed to a 10-point plan by the Ministry to combat violence in schools. “We have to make our schools safe for learning”, the minister said.
Baksh also urged the parents to counsel their children about gangs and drugs noting that they too have a role to play.
Meanwhile, the minister said that the attendance rate for students in Region Three is very poor. At the Leonora Secondary School, the attendance rate is 67% which means that on average, students are missing out on 30% of the curriculum, he said. He said that the fault not only lies with the school but with parents as well and he appealed to them to send their children to school.
He pointed out that at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, Region Three has been doing reasonably well but this is largely attributed to the performance of some schools. At the Leonora Secondary School, the results have been poor with the school at 46th place nationally, he said pointing out that the school’s performance has dropped drastically at the CSEC exams over the past three years, from a 32% pass rate in 2008 to 16% in 2010. The minister said that programmes need to be put in place for slow learners. He pointed to several initiatives of the Ministry whereby free textbooks and past exam papers are provided to students.
The minister also lamented the results in Mathematics and noted that they are looking at bringing in graduate teachers for this subject. He also pointed to the remediation programme. In addition, Baksh also acknowledged that there is a problem with school drop-outs and he noted that technical institutes will be built where they can learn a trade.
The Ministry currently rents the building for the school and Baksh noted that a new school is being built at a cost of just under $300M. It will be opened in September and he noted that facilities such as a Computer Lab, a library and other labs will be in place. He said that the Ministry is working to establish computer labs at all secondary schools and he hoped that this would be in place by the end of the year.
Earlier Friday, at a meeting at the Philadelphia Primary School, Baksh in noting that the literacy level has been identified as a problem, revealed that a Literacy test for Grade Four students will begin this year. The exam will test students’ reading and understanding and those who pass will receive a Literacy Certificate. “It will put pressure on the students and teachers”, said Baksh pointing out that the names of the schools that have performed poorly will be published.
He noted that the exam is to ensure that by the time the pupils reach Grade Six, they have reached an acceptable standard. Should a student fail, they will sit two more exams by the end of Grade Five to ensure that they have met the standard.
