Dear Editor,
In the late ‘70s, a governmental decision was made to have primary school students taught not just language and math but also subjects like science and social studies.
At that time, and to this day, the norm almost everywhere else in the world was, and is, that primary school students are taught only language and math since these are the foundation subjects required for learning every other subject. This norm of course, to right minded people, makes absolute sense.
But the leaders of Guyana at that particular time thought they were geniuses. They thought that introducing these other subjects would produce much more knowledgeable and intelligent primary school children and therefore, over time, a much more knowledgeable and intelligent nation.
Skip forward to 2024, and primary school students are still being taught more than just language and math.
So the question must be asked – have we, as a nation (after this lengthy period of time being taught these extra subjects) become more knowledgeable and more intelligent? Has the nation benefited from this decision and its continued implementation over the years?
I don’t think we as a nation have endeavoured to answer this question for ourselves. But fortunately, there is a literacy index which shows how literate the population of each country is compared to each other. That index indicates that Barbados is at number 23, the United States is at number 36, the United Kingdom is at number 39, Canada is at number 41 and Trinidad and Tobago is at number 53.
Gang and drug polluted Colombia is at number 114. Where is Guyana?
All the way down at number 143, next to countries like Iran and Syria and Zimbabwe, is where you will find our beloved land.
So, has this peculiar forty-something year old decision benefited us?
Common entrance examination results for 2024 show that one third (1/3) of the children writing common entrance this year failed English. (And we’re not counting the students who did not write that examination). Has the decision of the geniuses benefitted us?
Not coincidentally, one third (1/3) of primary students also failed common entrance overall. You are reading correctly – one third (1/3) failed English and one third (1/3) failed overall. This makes complete sense. If you can’t read and write in English then you can’t learn anything else in English and therefore you will fail overall. The same number who fail English will fail the overall exam. Primary students spend very very little time learning English. Their time in primary school is split up into fragments with each fragment being dedicated to a different subject matter. We somehow expect them to learn all these other subjects before they are finished learning English properly – in a country where, for better or for worse, let’s face it, creolese is our actual mother tongue.
Our expectations of primary children are way too high and our present methods have not worked, are not working and will never ever work.
The decision has not benefitted us. It’s time for us to reverse it and do what is normal and what makes sense.
Barbados (#23) has a literacy rate of 99.7% while Trinidad (#53) has 98.97% literacy. Guyana (#143) has a literacy rate of 87.5% That might sound like it’s a good percent. Most people are happy to get 87% correct in a test. But let’s do some math to see if it’s good. Based on the percentages, here is the difference between Guyana and other countries-
BARBADOS – a literacy rate of 99.7% means that one in every three hundred and thirty three people cannot read and write in Barbados ( 1/333 ). If you’re at a beach party there and 332 people are attending it, it’s likely they can all read and write.
TRINIDAD – a literacy rate of 98.97% means that one in every ninety seven people can’t read or write in Trinidad ( 1/97 ). If you’re at a fete there, and 96 people are attending it, it’s likely they can all read and write.
GUYANA – a literacy rate of 87.5% that means that one in every eight people can’t read or write in Guyana ( 1/8 ). If bus loads of people are arriving at a wedding here and each bus holds 8 people in it, it’s likely that one person in each bus cannot read or write.
The decision has not benefitted us.
Illiteracy is a huge burden on any society because people who can’t read or write likely –
– end up ill as a result of not being able to read about eating and living healthily and will increase demand for state resources at state hospitals etc;
– lose jobs to foreigners who will send profits they’ve earned back to their home countries;
– turn to crime to survive and end up harming other citizens and going to jail to enjoy state shelter and state food.
And this is exactly what has been happening in Guyana. This situation is a national shame and disgrace.
It’s time for us to do what is right – teach only language and math in primary school.
Before it’s too late.
Yours faithfully,
John M. Fraser LL.B.
