Dear Editor,
I wish to offer a few comments on the point raised regarding the “so-called absence of keenness for education” on the part of Indians in the letter captioned “Furthering an agenda at the expense of others” by M A Bacchus in the Kaieteur News of May 8, and the related editorial (KN, May 5) to which the letter refers.
Contrary to the KN‘s editorial statement, Indian-Guyanese keenness for education goes back more than “just a few decades ago.” Indian-Guyanese have been keen on education since the 1920s and the 1930s but they have also been very practical. The reality is that until the 1950s the only avenues for educated Indians to earn a livelihood were the independent
professions of law and medicine. In that regard, Dwarka Nath (A History of Indians in Guyana) notes that in 1935, ie just eighteen years after the ending of indentureship, 85 (52 %) of the 165 medical practitioners and 110 (50 %) of the 220 barristers and solicitors in the country were Indians.
Cheddi Jagan’s experience in the 1930s is similar to that of many Indians up to the mid-1950s.
Jagan (The West on Trial) informs us “The idea of going to study in the United States of America did not come about as the fulfilment of any plan or ambition… The fact was I could not find a job.
Armed with an Oxford and Cambridge School Certificate at the end of the school year 1935, I tried to get a job. But trying became hunting. My father and I knocked at many doors. The civil service was closed. A teaching job was proposed but the salary offered was only $ 20 a month. Besides, there were suggestions that if I wanted to become a teacher, I would have to become a Christian, and my parents would have none of this.”
Bacchus writes that the absence of keenness “has many attributing factors, one of which was schools prior to nationalization were largely run by religious groups mostly from the Christian belief and had Christian influences in the education curriculum.” Absence of keenness due to Christian influences was not a significant factor after indentureship. In fact, with the emergence of the British Guiana East Indian Association (BGEIA) in 1916 and its push for Indian education, as well as the setting up of the Canadian Mission schools (funded by the Canadian Presbyterian Church) which hired Hindi speaking teachers, taught Hindi, and encouraged the retention of Indian cultural practices, an increasing number of Indian children took to education. Again, Dwarka Nath reports that by 1950, when Indian-Guyanese accounted for just over 50% of the country’s population, Indian children were over 50% of the total number of children in the primary schools.
Then, in the late 1950s, Mr Balram Singh Rai, Education Minister in the PPP government, terminated “management control of 51 schools under Christian denominational control” (Baytoram Ramharack). This move was fought strenuously by the churches but Mr Rai stood his ground. This was a very significant development as Indians no longer had to convert to Christianity to become a teacher in these schools.
At this time, while primary education was free, secondary education, in the hands of private individuals/bodies, was not. Shortly thereafter, work started on ten government secondary schools to offer free secondary education and these schools were opened in September 1963 at places such as Annandale, Cummings Lodge, Zeeburg, East Ruimveldt, Belvedere, etc. Secondary education thus became more accessible to children in the countryside. And at the University of Guyana (UG) where the fee was $100 per year, Dwarka Nath records that of the first batch of 27 graduates in 1967, 18 (67%) were Indians. Consequently, Indians were doing quite well before the nationalization of schools.
Nationalization of the private schools, compulsory free secondary education, etc, by the PNC government certainly made education even more accessible.
However, the effects of these initiatives were likely negated by other factors. As noted earlier, Indians have always taken a practical approach to education. In the mid 1970s when political affiliation with the ruling party was an unwritten requirement for government jobs, Indians started to neglect education turning more to self-employment in the trades, businesses and agriculture, or emigrating.
This became more pronounced with the downturn in the economy when even lecturers at the UG became part-time traders to make ends meet. As well, the introduction of compulsory national service for UG students became a major deterrent for Indian females to attend the university and many Indian girls opted for marriage instead of a university education.
In the letter, M A Bacchus writes, “when efforts are made to manipulate history it hurts more than help the image of those promoting their achievements.” I fully agree with this statement. I write because I too believe that history should not be manipulated.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Hergash