Dear Editor,
Re-conceptualize education so that Guyana finds its best fit. The economic scenario is rapidly changing and therefore the social fabric of the country will be under strain to re-define itself to accommodate vigorous change. The change ought to be vigorous as the coffers of the country fill. What some countries can only hope for Guyana can make into reality because investible funds exist. Can investment be directed into development so that education both protects and informs this generation and generations to come? Re-conceptualize education to get away from delivery which requires merely a passive population. It would be alarming if educators were merely depositors of knowledge (ref. Paolo Friere) and schools over the wide spread of the country were merely required to wait to be topped up with knowledge. One person who commented on the opinion that rural communities should be defining their needs and goals in education thought that ‘trained professionals’ should be doing this as only ‘trained professionals’ would be equipped to suggest or propose needs and goals of education. I am one of those ‘trained professionals’ and my take on this is quite different.
Communities throughout the country will have decided opinions of what they believe their educational needs and goals are and there has to be space in educational planning for these to be elicited, weighed, advised upon and acted upon. A critical process needs to be instituted by which all views are welcomed and treated seriously. This does not mean that the widespread communities become planners of national education. It means that the planners celebrate the worth of local opinion and use it for the basis of critical discussion so that what is produced is both empowerment and education of any community and ultimately a quality of national planning which satisfies the national clientele. People, even simple people, begin to believe that they matter. That is what has to happen if the small population of Guyana is to hold its own as ‘development’ takes place. A goal of education therefore must be to snap people out of lethargy, to develop critical consciousness and to encourage dialogue which motivates and binds together a powerful national identity.
I have evidence to offer for seeking local expression of needs and goals and I use the letter of Medino Abraham who suggests that the secondary school can be a part of the local community so that students remain within the family unit (at least up to CXC level?). I seem to recall that he is congratulatory for Advanced level schooling which happens in Georgetown.
He was approving. His idea to localize education is worthy of serious consideration and cost benefit analysis. Rejection outright is unintelligent. What therefore would his idea entail? Certainly, more teachers, infrastructure, communication technology and so on. But in Guyana this is not an impossibility. This is a wonderful opportunity for problem solving. It will also entail not investing in dormitories in preference to offering education in locations with manageable distances and appropriate transportation to and from home. Teacher rotation and modular teaching might possibly be part of this. I understand that there are eleven educational clusters in Guyana with Georgetown being the eleventh. Eliciting needs and goals from the ten communities will produce differences which can be justified by a local community. None of this needs to be confrontational. Fundamental to critical thought is difference of opinion and such differences should not be extinguished or labelled as confusion or conflict.
If Guyana cannot produce a quality of education which wakes up all its people, then the country will have worked for its own cultural demise. Identity will be that of a subservient mass who do not know how to speak their thoughts. Somebody else will speak. Who will this’ somebody else’ be? It would be great if the conversation on education continued. It may lead somewhere good.
I am concerned when I read conceptions of education which seem to diminish people. To activate a best ‘fit’ or better ‘fit’ in education, alongside of rapid economic and other changes must be extremely challenging, but doable nevertheless. Money plus time plus courage will have rich rewards. I like the word ’doable’ and plan to use it many times. Keep writing, Medino! So I say!
Sincerely,
Gabriella Rodriguez
