Chartered Accountant and attorney Christopher Ram yesterday appealed to the government to substantially increase the annual subvention to the National Library.
He was at the time handing over a cheque to the library for $700,000 from the Ram and McRae group of Professional Services Firms.
In his remarks Ram said: “We appeal to the government to increase substantially the annual subvention to this library, which currently stands at $270M, a sum that sounds significant to the average person, but is a mere $360 per person in the country. Against the background of this modest sum, we also call on our decision makers to designate the National Library as an institution for which donations as we make today qualify as tax deductible under section 35 of the Income Tax Act. The immediate impact is that donors can increase their contributions without any tax burden”.
He congratulated the Management Committee of the Library for taking the initiative to launch an essay competition to coincide with its 50th anniversary. The Competition is open to two groups of children – 10 – 12 years old and 13 – 15 years old.
“We recognise both the needs of the public and the challenges facing the National Library. That is why our own management team had no difficulty in persuading the management team to join forces with the Library to make this contribution towards to the noble objectives of the venture being launched today, confident of the cause and the outcome”, Ram said.
He added that the service the National Library has provided, amidst the challenge it faces is commendable. However, he said that ensuring its survival and success going forward may depend on the Library embracing technology and modern modes of learning such as e-books, expanding its membership base and its services to whichever area of Guyana the internet can reach.
He also touched on the need for better trained and paid teachers. Citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on learning, Ram said: “Unable to attend classes in person, our young minds suffered badly from limited access to online teaching and learning. Even in the best of times, our education system provides inadequately for children of poor parents. We would like to see greater and better focused expenditure in education, including better trained and better paid teachers”.
