Dear Editor,
It must be the joke of the century for the installed Minister of Education to be advocating a $19,000 (under US $100) payout for every child in public schools, since this programme is ill conceived and will not improve the lives of the children, parents or teachers or increase their access to education. It is inadequate by the cheapest of calculations. It is laughable because the payout cannot achieve the two critical objectives of improving the lives of children, parents and teachers and increasing our children’s access to education. At the wider level, it fits into the PPP scheme to create dependence rather than increasing our people’s capacity to earn and live decent and fulfilling lives. The PPP’s use of state resources creates dependencies to dominate and control the lives of the people of Guyana. This approach must be condemned and resisted. With the critical issues facing parents and their children at this time of Covid-19, the programme cannot help them surmount their problems. It would not satisfy our people’s basic needs.
$19,000 cannot cushion the ill effects of parents out of jobs and those fired by the PPP during Covid-19. It cannot cushion the adverse effects of the more than 50% increase in the cost of living while there has been no wages and salaries increases. Our peoples’ real income has declined making life difficult; it cannot begin to help children to access education on the internet since data costs a lot. In addition, many areas that were given free government internet by the APNU-AFC have been cut off to restrict access to the internet on political grounds and many communities are without internet and the purchasing power to access the internet. Clearly, the aim is not to make education accessible and people’s lives better. What Guyana needs is a well thought out programme aimed at improving the lives of children, parents and teachers and improving students’ and teachers’ accessibility to online, and other platforms of teaching and learning. This cash grant cannot achieve these two basic objectives.
Sincerely,
Aubrey C. Norton
