The two hardest Cabinet portfolios are arguably the ministries of health and education. They span the full geography of Guyana and are obligated under the law to provide essential services to the nation’s most vulnerable citizens in matters that are highly emotional.
In the case of health it often means the question of life or death while for education the futures of every single parent’s precious offspring are at stake. So the ministers should be applauded for taking on these responsibilities. Despite many self-congratulatory posts on social media they are pretty thankless jobs.
That said, in the case of education, it is hard not to conclude that under the current minister, Priya Manickchand who has been in office for eight of the past 13 years, far more progress could have been achieved.
The yardsticks for success in education are crude but ultimately hinge on exam results first at the youngest level as a measure of literacy and numeracy. Further along results at CSEC and finally how many go on to tertiary education are also indicators of a well-run system. On these measures the ministry has for years consistently failed both absolutely and comparatively to other Caribbean education systems. Never mind that it put up a big billboard congratulating Guyana’s top performers in the region. That is no measure of success and is more a reflection of those individual students’ efforts despite, not thanks to, the ministry.
Let’s look at some of the results: Students in the hinterland had a pass rate at NGSA in 2023 of 37% in English and 18% in Maths. In comparison, private school pupils scored 94% in English and 79% in Maths. At CSEC there was not one Grade One pass for hinterland or riverain schools. Seven out of ten students failed Mathe-matics CSEC and the secondary school dropout rate stands at 50% – among the highest in the region.
Another measure worth considering is the retention of employees/teachers. On this the ministry has also failed, mainly due to low wages and poor working conditions. Anyone who saw the photographs of teachers and students huddling under umbrellas in a Bartica school last week could understand. Decrepit washroom facilities, poorly ventilated, let alone air conditioned, classrooms are the norm. A recent spate of abuse against teachers is now emerging.
Also affecting the public system is the fact that successive PPP/C administrations have encouraged the growth of private schools and hospitals as part of farming out essential services to the business class. This has lured away many of the better teachers and often the brightest students leaving educational deserts and handicapping those students left behind from accessing top secondary schools. Half of those gaining places at top secondaries came from private schools last year. Each time the minister acknowledges this but has done nothing to rectify the situation.
Many teachers are simply heading overseas where they can enjoy a far higher salary. A graduate teacher in Barbados for example gets between B$47,198 to B$66,192, equivalent to G$4.9M to G$6.9M.
Probably the most glaring example of poor management of the ministry was the Mahdia tragedy, initially as it could have been avoided if the two reports that identified the deficiencies had been acted upon. The recent Commission of Inquiry report was disappointing both in not receiving testimony from the minister and in its glaring contradiction that it blamed the regional education officer but said the same result would have happened even with adequate safeguards. The socio-economic factors it cited were mere window dressing and skipped over ministerial responsibility.
Minister Manickchand categorically refused to take any blame for the deaths. The great irony is that when asked in Parliament about it, the minister blamed her predecessor Rupert Roopnaraine for not acting on the 2017 report. But was it not her contention that the dorms came under local government? And why is it now that it is her ministry belatedly scrambling to fix the shortcomings as laid out in the UNICEF report which she had kept secret? What a tangled web!
We would also note that the Chief Education Officer, Saddam Hussain, despite a long career in the system has been taking a political position telling the CoI the failure of the previous government to act on the 2017 Caesar report was “callous”, “Absolute-ly nothing was done”. But one must also ask then what did he and his minister do from August 2020 to May 21 2023?
Mr Hussain has continued this combative rhetoric in recent days in response to the latest crisis, the teachers strike. Along with his minister he has doubled down saying there would be no pay for striking teachers and declaring the ministry will no longer collect union dues. What a remarkable turnaround for a party which each May Day calls for solidarity with workers.
It is hard not to conclude that this ministry is in disarray. It is time for the President who seems utterly occupied by oil and business opportunities to show some leadership.
Our children deserve better.
