By Stacey Davidson
Guyana Chronicle
April 11, 2001

THOUSANDS of school children across Guyana are today and tomorrow taking the SSEE examination for entry into secondary schools.

Teachers have worked hard with students in the various schools throughout the year, not for themselves, but for the sake of the children.

In fact the only satisfaction teachers get is when the results reflect the strenuous work and long hours they put in with their students.

The reality is that the parents stand to gain from the success of their children at school, when they enter adulthood.

Only those parents who do not take pride in their children's performances at schools wouldn't care less about their children's future.

We know that numerous parents, and we are talking here about those whose children attend schools in Georgetown, are very, very unhappy with the activities by protestors who have been on the streets of Georgetown for some time now.

The disruption Monday transformed into ugly situations in the city when several business places were burnt to the ground, losses running into billions of dollars, and leaving a sad trail of unemployment in its ravaging path.

School children have witnessed most of these activities, and it is with these experiences, still fresh in their minds, they are writing their examination.

It is incumbent upon us to make sure that our children are prepared to become good citizens.

If we do not contribute to develop their capacities, if we do not enrich their minds with knowledge, imbue their hearts with love, then we contribute to our own downfall.

We believe that the children who attend schools in Georgetown, and more so those belonging to Georgetown and its environs, have been denied this opportunity, some of them by their very own parents who are taking part in the street activities currently affecting Georgetown.

On the other hand, children in the countryside who are writing the examination today and tomorrow are not at a disadvantage.

The environment around their schools has been quiet and encouraging and they would have entered the examination today in a perfect frame of mind and very much relaxed.

Their counterparts in the city, on the other hand, have lived through several traumatic experiences which have already taken a psychological and mental toll on their very young and innocent minds.

Are we not mindful about the future of our children?

If we deny them this right, then we are condemned for the rest of our life.

Who would want to live through the rest of their life with such an indelible scar and the horrors of being haunted by their own mistake?

For the sake of the children, let there be peace!