Well-known academic, politician and social activist Dr Rupert Roopnaraine yesterday issued a stirring appeal for citizens to embrace the traditional ancestral values of “sharing, solidarity and togetherness” in the quest to produce the “constructive social change” necessary to transform the nation.
Delivering the feature address to a gathering of past and present students and staff of his alma mater Queen’s College, Roopnaraine said that Guyana had experienced too many difficulties and it was time to make a conscientious stand to bring about positive change. The gathering constituted a special assembly held as part of the school’s 165th Anniversary celebrations. The event was held at the school’s auditorium at Thomas Lands.
Roopnaraine told the assembly: “I believe that there is no greater nor more urgent task confronting us today in our troubled, tormented country- and ours is not the only or even the worst of the fatally riven places of the world- than the overcoming of the accumulated bitterness and fears of the past, the slow and deadly drip that if left unchecked will continue to poison the present and the future.” He called for “constructive social change”- which based on author John Paul Lederach’s definition, he said was “the pursuit of moving relationships from those defined by fear, mutual recrimination, and violence toward those characterized by love, mutual respect, and proactive engagement. “
“What I am suggesting, I hope not too fancifully, is that our generation (those of the 50s and 60s) at Queen’s College was growing to adulthood in an environment that had not completely lost touch with those ancestral values that accorded great importance to such inclusive values as sharing, solidarity and togetherness”, Roopnaraine said. “If we can learn to revive these values and let them provide a foundation for that constructive social change, if we embrace the idea that the quality of our life is dependent on the quality of life of others, that ‘the well-being of our grand-children is directly tied to the well-being of our enemy’s grand-children,” then we will have opened a space for renewal and hope”, he said.
Roopnaraine delivered his speech in spite of a power outage which occurred seconds before he took to the podium. In the absence of a back up power supply, Roopnaraine overcame the initial challenges in being heard and proceeded to deliver an address that gripped sections of the audience. Upon completion of his speech, he received a standing ovation from the crowd.
Power was restored to the building about twenty-five minutes after the outage due to the intervention of Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) Public Relations consultant Ron Robinson. By that time Roopnaraine had already completed his speech. Robinson, who was part of the assembly, said that the outage was unscheduled and was caused by a transmission problem. He said that following the outage he contacted the Chairman of the GPL Bharrat Dindyal, and the matter was treated as a priority. Earlier Queen’s College Principal Friedel Isaacs said that the school continued to be one of excellence performing outstandingly in academics and sports. She pointed out that “Queen’s College has been the top performing school of the Caribbean for four consecutive years, including this year” based on its performance at the Caribbean Secondary Educa-tion Certificate Examination (CSEC). “We have also boasted the most outstanding student for the Caribbean and top performance for Science for these years”, she added. Students of the school also won the awards for the top Business performance in 2007 and 2008, the Head teacher noted.
Isaacs pointed out that the school continued to perform outstandingly despite the many challenges facing the institutions. These include the “challenges of teacher shortages, teacher migration, rapid turn over of staff and other administrative issues.” The Principal acknowledged the significant role that the old students played in offering support for the school and saluted them for their outstanding contributions.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh stated that based on the school’s excellent performance it is widely acknowledged that “Queen’s College is the most outstanding secondary school in the entire Commonwealth Caribbean”. This declaration was greeted with a loud applause by the hundreds gathered in the auditorium.
Baksh said that the school was testimony to the success that a school governed by a board can achieve and stated that 32 schools in the country currently have boards. He said that the plan is to expand this practice to more schools. He, however, emphasized that the government has no intention of privatizing public schools but said that it will encourage the emergence of new secondary schools. The Minister also commended the old students for the tremendous support given to the schools acknowledging that this had a significant impact on the institution. He, however, underscored government’s commitment in advancing the country’s education sector.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, a former student of the institution, noted that the prospects of Queen’s College and Guyana were intertwined. Reflecting on his own school days, the Prime Minister noted that 85 percent of the classmates at his time had opted to leave Guyana which had been regarded negatively by some. He, however, noted that these persons had made significant contributions even as they settled elsewhere. He said that it was perhaps time to embrace a more welcoming attitude towards foreigners who could help in developing Guyana.
At the assembly, several donations were also made to the school by overseas chapters as well as awards handed out to old students who have made significant contributions to the school following their departure. The school’s choir also performed and the Police Band was also on hand to entertain the gathering.
Following the assembly, three plaques bearing photographs and information on three former students who later became Principals of the school were unveiled. The plaques were in honour of Doodnauth Hetram, Professor Richard Allsopp and Clarence Trotz. The Anniversary celebrations commenced on Tuesday evening with a cocktail reception held at the Georgetown Club and will conclude on Sunday with an open-air thanksgiving service and brunch at Thirst Park. Scores of foreign-based old students have returned to Guyana to be part of these festivities.
