A modern society
Editorial
The format of speeches at Independence, Republic and New Year have become almost standardised. They all begin with a call for unity in one form or another, and progress to an undertaking to improve living standards. President Jagdeo's first Independence address was no exception in this regard, although he did throw in a vision of a "modern society with a highly educated population." In fact, he declared the "revolutionising of education" a priority, and stated that the education system had failed children. Nobody would dispute that. However he went on to say that when the PPP/Civic came to power only 35 per cent of Common Entrance students were able to access secondary schools. Nowadays, in contrast, that figure had jumped to 58 per cent, and within three years every child would graduate to secondary school. One always hopes that politicians do not take their own rhetoric too seriously. No one denies the President's statistics; however, the evidence would seem to suggest that there has been no dramatic improvement in students' performances, and that where they previously emerged semi-literate (or in some cases functionally illiterate) from the primary schools, they now do so from the secondary schools instead. The statistic that really matters is that which pertains to the departure rate of trained and/or graduate teachers from the education system. It is the secondary schools in particular which have suffered from the exodus, because they are the ones which require the subject specialists, and the subject specialists are the ones who find easy employment abroad. The President, perhaps, was making an oblique reference to this problem when he talked about teacher training taking place in various locations other than Georgetown, and his Government's efforts to pay teachers more. For a variety of reasons, the first on its own will probably not have a dramatic impact on the quality of education which children receive, while in the case of the second, the salary increases awarded so far are not sufficiently generous to anchor teachers to the local schools, or attract back those who have already emigrated. While the President's vision of a "modern society with a highly educated population," is to be commended, if that goal is ever to have meaning, his Government needs to apply more imagination to solving the crisis in education than is currently the case. In addition, it needs to engage stakeholders and the wider community in a debate on problems in the school system. The administration too has to be prepared to learn from the educational mistakes of societies (such as the U.K.), and pay attention to the relevant research as to why some countries have been successful in more recent times where schooling is concerned, and others less so. But there is a more fundamental difficulty. It is all very well to dream of a highly educated population, but as things stand, this administration has shown itself very shy about seeking out high-level skills in fields where it desperately needs them. The most recent example, of course, is the case of the Beal negotiations, but it is by no means the only one. If the Government presents an image that political commitment is more important than aptitude, then the population, more particularly if it is highly educated, will migrate. Furthermore, if it conveys the impression that regardless of ability and qualifications, loyalty is paramount, then no one will take seriously any pronouncements about inclusiveness and it will be impossible to mobilize the energies of all the people for development. Again too, if members of the administration are so insecure that they cannot tolerate contrary opinions from senior bureaucrats (for example) more knowledgeable in a field than themselves, then rational decision-making will not be possible and the nation will lose people of ability. And if the Cabinet boasts some members who do not appear to recognize talent or set any store by it, then nobody will believe the statements about creating a modern society, and it will, in fact, not be possible to create such a society. Even if the President managed to fix the education system, therefore, he would still have to ensure that the country would not be educating for export.
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