Arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted “systemic failures and deficiencies” within the education sector and the government at-large, opposition Member of Parliament Lenox Shuman on Friday said the indigenous people across the country are struggling as a result.
Delivering his maiden speech during the budget debate last Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Shuman, Leader of the Liberty and Justice Party (LJP), highlighted the effects on the delivery of education and the disparity between what is obtaining on the coastland as against the hinterland. He told the House that the coastland schools are at advantage during this period since they are equipped with the necessary tools for online classes, which includes internet access while the indigenous communities are forced to “self-teach” in a language that is “alien” to some of them.
“Our communities are struggling through COVID-19. Schools on the coast are enjoying internet access, TV and radio broadcast learning tools, while many of our Indigenous communities are expected to self-teach in a language that is somewhat alien to them, in preparation for exams that are mostly void of their collective histories,” Shuman said.