Dear Editor,
There is news via the Department of Public Information that Teacher Ms Benjamin has had to work on her own initiative to improve literacy in St Winefride’s Secondary School. The Ministry of Education owes Ms Benjamin payment for the work she is trying to do. The Ministry of Education owes a duty to support all teachers in secondary school who are confronted with the children who have left primary school without knowing to read and write properly. The underlying story here is that there are many schools in Guyana without library spaces, despite all the successes of ‘building schools’.
The Ministry of Education should be ashamed that the primary school system continues to fail many children and families.
Guyana at 53 should be one in which every single child graduating from primary school should know to read and write. Guyana at 53 should be one which acknowledges the crisis in illiteracy, and which dedicates resources to ensuring that all children who are accessing the schools can read and write. The Ministry of Education should be providing skilled teachers and resources to support the children with special needs.
There is nothing really to celebrate in Guyana as long as there are children who are leaving primary school who cannot read and write.
Yours faithfully,
Vidyaratha Kissoon
