Dear Editor,
Every child should be allowed to focus on those subjects likely to provide the best outcome for their careers. Naturally there are core subjects. However, if a child is brilliant, but still wants to pursue a vocational career, the child’s creativity will very probably result in him/her becoming an entrepreneur, versus a doctor, lawyer, etc.
If the child is brilliant but is not interested in vocational subjects, then the child should not be forced to write these additional subjects, as they become a source of unnecessary stress.
Further it is probably widely noted in the Caribbean education system the fatigue and distress presented by the SBA component of CXC exams for children writing large numbers of subjects. The Ministry of Education could consider lobbying CXC to offer a single subject focused on research, versus the current arrangement where students engage in research in almost all CXC subjects. Alternatively, they could explore testing at GCE. Guyana needs to put itself first and stop being trapped by someone else’s ideas.
Yours faithfully,
Craig Sylvester
