Teachers from the Southern District of Georgetown yesterday told Minister of Education Priya Manickchand that the benefits of both corporal punishment and the retention of students far outweighed those of abolishing them.
“Corporal punishment works! North Ruimveldt Multilateral School is testimony to this. There was a ministry policy to lock the gates when students were late and the first day we had over 300 children out there. We said forget this and brought the cane. The next week it was reduced to 20,” Senior Master of the school Kerwyn Marks said to thunderous applause and nodding of heads by teachers gathered at a consultation in the school’s auditorium to discuss the issues.
A very vocal Mars cited several examples of how both corporal punishment and retention of students had a positive domino effect on society as a whole. “I am not saying every teacher should put the lashes on the children. It must be structured and not handed down by junior teachers but they have to know when they slip up is blows and see how circumspect they are,” he said.
“This non-retention of students that everybody calls no child left behind, I want to see it go, removed like yesterday,” Mars said. “It isn’t working. They take a nonchalant approach to academics because they know any which way they will be promoted. I have a child who repeated multiple times and will write exams next year. I can bet he will get all his subjects because he isn’t in a special class he is in the technical stream and doing excellent you think if we had let him glide through the system this would have been possible?”
The senior teacher also used the forum to complain to the minister about the horrible attitude of officers of her ministry when speaking to teachers.
He said it was unbearable to watch officers “talk to teachers as if they are children or dogs. They need to bridle their mouths and remember that we are the ones under them who will execute policies implemented by them. If they want to treat us anyhow, we will resist and the policies will fail.”
The minister announced that as of next week she will set aside Wednesdays from 3 pm to 5 pm to interface with teachers.
She also promised to look into the issue of the officials so that an amicable resolution be had.
In an emotionally charged presentation, teacher Fay Ann Williams of Lodge Community High recalled when a junior teacher from her school suffered at the violent hands of a student. She said the layout of some schools isn’t conducive for leaving a class on one end to trod a long distance to complain to a head teacher. The teacher added that she will always support corporal punishment as it is tried and tested
Persons who were recipients of corporal punishment as children are more likely to become aggressive and “instilled with rage and hostility” Deputy Education Officer Melcita Bovell explained as she delivered PowerPoint presentations based on research done on the controversial issue. She edified teachers, though her presentations, on both the pros and cons of having both corporal punishment and retention in schools.
Sir Belgrave of Tucville Primary opined that often when policies are implemented into schools they are not structured to suit the Guyanese society.
He said that teachers have to teach the students they have and not the students they want, those the ministry wants them to have or those in foreign countries. He was critical of the antiquated methods of teaching and materials used given that this is the technological age of gadgets and students today would easily grasp more from interactive computer games than a text used decades ago.
Belgrave said enough is not being done to get students and parents to realize the integral role they play in educating themselves and making themselves productive citizens of this country.
Views expressed by participants at consultations countrywide will be used by the ministry in formulating policies on the issues.
