Dear Editor,

I would like to add to Mr R Williams’ letter captioned, ‘Restore the system of old QC and Bishops’ which was published in SN on July 27.

The Minister of Education cannot restore the education system to a level where extra lessons become obsolete. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, the current policies of the ministry lend to the extra lessons culture. On a daily basis, the teaching routine is interrupted to accommodate programmes that the ministry believes are important to the development of the individual. For example:

Students engage in cricket competitions during school hours rather than after school hours or weekends with permission from the Ministry of Education. These involve extensive practice sessions during school hours also. They also engage in football and windball competitions, and the latter have resulted in some students going to Barbados. Then there are basketball, hockey and now rugby competitions and practice sessions during school hours with ministry permission. There are as well the inter-house, inter-schools, inter-branch and national sports.

Students also engage in AIDS and fire prevention week rallies. They go on tours and field trips and attend Open Day activities at UG. They attend health and safety workshops conducted by NGOs and listen to Youth Challenge and Help and Shelter workshops in schools. They also listen to concerts (performances by Adrian Dutchin) in school, with permission from the Ministry of Education.

They attend forums where a student presence in required; for instance, at the launching of the Guyana Classics or the recently convened workshop on violence in schools. They take part in debating competitions during the third term, as well as participate in impromptu speaking competitions during the entire year, since different sponsors use this category of competition.

They visit the Cultural Centre to see plays such as Fences.

In addition, they listen to religious talks by different organizations, sanctioned by the ministry during school hours, and participate in school fund-raising activities organized by the PTA, sometimes on school days. They attend cricket matches at the National Stadium such as the ICC Twenty20 World Cup, and participate in Mash activities regionally and nationally during school hours.

Students ‘sport’ in the last week of the first term – I do not use the term ‘Christmas party’ because these events are not Christmas oriented – and enjoy study breaks (Grade 11) before exams.

There are other activities. We have been told by the Ministry of Education that these things are needed for the holistic development of the individual, and to further socialize the student so that he or she can be a more rounded individual. Who are the ordinary teachers to dispute?

In addition to these, teachers absent themselves from duty and students stay home which takes away more teaching time. Further, a school year has 39 weeks. Seven to ten of those weeks will go towards examinations for the entire year since every term has exams. We have 32 weeks left. Teaching is hardly ever done in the first week of all three terms. We have 29 weeks remaining. We have regional exams: 28 weeks remaining. We have National Grade Nine Exams: 27 weeks remaining. We have CXC: 26 weeks remaining (one week only for the subjects with many candidates).

CXC now stipulates that no classes can be held in the flat of the building that they are using, so students have to remain at home. We have national holidays: 25 weeks. Hence, we have 25 weeks to convey the entire curriculum. While the number of weeks has reduced, the number of topics in the syllabus has remained the same. With the introduction of religious education and other enrichment programmes, more time will be lost.

As such, extra lessons are a necessity because of the very policy of the Ministry of Education. The extra-lessons teacher should be seen and is seen as a saviour in times when academic subjects are not given substantial time but results are demanded. A child cannot be successful in the present school system alone. He or she needs to attend extra lessons. Highly successful Grade 6 students interviewed thanked their lessons teachers. Some did not even thank their class teacher. This is clearly indicative of who they think is responsible for their success.

As a teacher, I do not like lessons because it takes away from the importance of the class teacher. However, I know I cannot complete the curriculum with so many interruptions although these are beneficial. It is my contention that the Ministry of Education pursues policies that indirectly contribute to the emergence and sustainability of the extra lessons culture.

Yours faithfully,
MS Hussain