A SENIOR education official says the Ministry of Education is hard put to resolve the critical textbook problem in most of the country’s 385 primary and 57 secondary schools.
He said that the Ministry is hampered by (the foreign exchange constraint and so text books cannot be imported. He said a local paper shortage continues to hamper the printing of texts locally. Teachers are also forced to give extra lessons after-hours and at weekends because of the shortage of texts, the source pointed out.
Particularly hit by the shortage are students preparing for the SSEE, CXC and GCE examinations. Students say books in short supply include texts for the Sciences, Maths, English and Business subjects.
A St. Andrew’s Primary School pupil explained that his school basically needs English, Maths and Science books. “I had to buy a First Aid in English for $150 and spend $69 and $96 for Junior English Books One to Five. I also had to buy a Junior English Revised for $85 earlier this year,” the student said.
The student also said books are only available at “reasonable prices” from the Guyana National Trading Corporation (GNTC) and added that the demand for these makes them very scarce. He said most students who need books have to buy from traders.
Some students preparing for examinations say that because of the shortage they are unable to complete syllabuses. One parent said: “I had to buy over $1,000 in text books for my daughter attending Queen’s College in order for her to write the CXC/GCE Exams earlier this year.”
Students in both the Primary and Secondary schools also have to share texts. Two to six students are known to have been sharing one text book.
A GNTC official said that the next shipment of text books is not due until March-April. The last shipment was in August this year. He also said that CXC texts are cheaper than the GCE texts. “At present,” he said, “we have none of the basic texts.”
The source also disclosed that prices vary between $50 to over $1,000 for some texts. A Management Accounts Keeping text costs $1,095. Dictionaries range from $50 to $100. Maths and English texts fetch about the same prices.
RECYCLING
A teacher from the St. Rose’s High School said that most schools recycle text books through a system in which at the end of the academic year the class that is finished using the particular texts should hand these over to the class following.
He however said that when these books are returned they are sometimes in a deplorable condition. ‘Sometimes we have to discard these and this leads to a shortage.’ he disclosed
Other secondary schools are said to be experiencing the same problem.
Surviving Christmas
Of interest to women with Alice Thomas
Don’t Let the Season Be a High Crisis Time
DURING last Christmas a close friend, Jacquey Jackson who unfortunately is now deceased, and to whom this article is dedicated said to me that at Christmas women always try to make themselves into martyrs: we work, work, work and at the end of the holidays we end up being almost as wrung as the ‘neck’ of the chicken.
Most of us have this ideal, we cherish a vision of the happy family, with everything perfect. The children all content with their toys, husband replete with good food and attention, all the family members spreading the good tidings and every everyone happy and loving.
In reality, to achieve this, it is all woman’s work and the poor woman is completely drained and very seldom enjoys any of this festivities.
According to some research material, Christmas can be a catalyst for emotional and even physical violence, and a whole range of stress-related symptoms from insomnia to migraines; the festive season could be referred to as “a high crisis time.”
What in fact happens, is that women are always trying to please someone else and this is impossible. We take on the jobs as the ‘chief cook and bottle washer’ and feel completely responsible for the well-being of everyone. It may all be a part of our early conditioning, in which we are encouraged to believe that we are responsible for others.
For career women, the task is even harder. We must prove that we are still women, in the traditional sense, so we work at our jobs and we still insist on doing all the traditional things. We start making the pepper pot and the cake, fixing the Christmas tree, and at the end, we silently declare: “See, I can do it too.”
We avoid all types of roles and labels during the year, but come Christmas we have to prove that we are superwomen. There is nothing wrong in buying a cake, or getting help from someone else, we must relax and shed some load emotionally and physically. We should even involve our partners and children in these preparations.
If we insist on doing all the traditional things, we should try and do as much as possible early. It is not suggested that you put it all on the computer, but there are shortcuts that one can use to avoid the last-minute panic that we always seem to throw ourselves” into.
To ask for help in some women’s books, is to diminish them, they have the attitude: “I can do it quicker and better myself.” We do this because it is a form of control, and for some of us must be in control of our homes.
Today’s family patterns — divorce, singleparents, Stepchildren and other arrangements — can also create special nightmares at Christmas.
Christmas Day is a very emotional experience, and people who may be very sensible in theory always seem to get worked up at this time and resentment and tensions can build-up.
We should review how we deal with Christmas, do not go overboard on the idea that we must please everyone. It is a festival of enjoyment, let us enjoy it, do not take all the responsibility on yourself, just relax and do whatever you enjoy — and the chances are that everyone else will enjoy themselves too.
Merry Christmas!
More Problems for GEC
And The People Suffer
GUYANESE are more than likely to spend Christmas weekend 1988 with the dreaded ‘load-shedding,’ Electricity Corporation officials said yesterday.
Up to early yesterday, the system was producing a mere 16 megawatts of which most is being fed to hospitals, the Liliendaal drainage pump, the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation, the Water Works and other installations termed “essential services.”
“There is little left for consumers,” one official told Stabroek News.
A statement said “salt water had leaked into the purified water,” forcing engineers to rinse the Number Three Boiler and keep it out of operation for safety reasons.
If this is not enough, officials said the only one functioning of the three sets at the Garden of Eden diesel station had conked out, but efforts were being made to nurse it back into the system. This would add another three megawatts.
The night-time peak demand is 48.
State sues Kwayana
THE state has moved to the High Court in a bid to get opposition politician Mr. Eusi Kwayana to pay over $4,500 which he owes following a Court of Appeal decision eight years ago.
The Attorney General has sued Kwayana of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), for payment of $4,590 and the case is fixed for the High Court on January 9.
Thy Attorney General is claiming that the sum is owed from a December 11, 1980 Court of Appeal dismissal of an application by Kwayana against the late President Forbes Burnham.
Kwayana in October 1980 had challenged Burnham’s assumption of the Presidency on the ground that it was null and void because he did not subscribe to the oath of office as set out in Article 232 of the Constitution.
Kwayana had contended that Burnham had in his oath of office used the words “so help me God’ which were not included in the oath prescribed by the constitution.
The Court of Appeal on December 11, 1980, dismissed Kwayana’s application with costs to be taxed in favour of the respondent in the matter.
The statement of claim said that despite “repeated requests to the defendant to pay the sum he failed and or refused to do so.”
