Background to the introduction of the dual system
The 1876 Bill was significant as much, if not more, for the fact that it saw the introduction of compulsory primary education to British Guiana. There had been a certain amount of dual control prior to this. The 1876 bill formalised it and therefore the fierce debate over the bill was more over the pros and cons of compulsory education. The debate over the problems of dual control was to come later.

In the immediate post emancipation period, the planters and the Colonial Office supported religious education as a mechanism for ensuring the status quo - socialising the ex slaves into accepting the white plantocracy as the dominant force in the society while persuading them of the necessity of fulfilling the functions of estate labour. By the mid 1870’s the former was assured, the latter clearly was in doubt. Compulsory education was now trumpeted as the means of achieving the latter. It was seen as a means of helping to acquire a labour force for the plantation because parents had to earn money to pay the fees for their children to go to school. It was felt that compulsory education would be the cure for idleness and unpunctuality and arrest the habits of indolence and improvidence. Moreover, it would create a disciplined society in which Creole parents would be employed on the plantations and their children would be taught the 3Rs, agriculture and Industrial Arts.

By 1874, the inefficiencies of the education system were so blatant that Governor Longden appointed a commission to inquire into, report upon and make recommendations on public education in the colony. The commission, among other things, decided that the system of voluntary schools aided by Government and superintended by local patrons or managers, best suited the needs of the colony; they found that attendance should be made compulsory; they decided that the Austin system of payment by results had lowered the standard of qualification of the teachers, and caused incompetence to again be prevalent in the schools. In 1877, four Ordinances were passed which gave effect to the recommendations. In addition to attendance at school and the payment of school fees being made compulsory, the employment of children under nine years of age was prohibited. There were two categories of schools - ‘Aided Schools’ which were under the control of the religious bodies and ‘Colonial Schools’ which came under direct government supervision. Plantations in cultivation were required to provide and maintain schools for the children on them.

Compulsory education/dual control in action
Within five years of its introduction, the new system was subjected to substantive changes. Shortly after he became Governor in 1882, Henry Irving expressed his concern about certain defects in the system including the poor collection of school fees, irregular attendance and what he termed the excessive government expenditure on elementary education. This latter point and the poor remuneration and poor quality of teachers were and continue to be a recurring theme on any discussion on the education system. Two actions of Governor Irving were to impact significantly on the system. First, the closure of the Bishop’s College as a government training institution for teachers on the ground that it was useless, was expensive and contributed to a lack of responsibility of the Clergy to ensure the efficient management of their schools. This decision contributed to even poorer quality of teachers. Secondly, the Board of Education was abolished and its power transferred to the Governor and Court of Policy who delegated this responsibility to the Inspector of Schools. According to one critic, “The great misfortune in connection with this system was the constitution of the Board of Education, the ministers of religion who formed the majority wrecking not only the Board but the system by their ill-advised conduct. Indeed it was not statesmanlike to place the education of the masses in the hands of men who were not sufficiently responsible on the one hand, or dignified on the other hand, to avoid wasting precious time and valuable opportunities in petty squabbling.” The ‘pernicious’ system of payment by results was reintroduced and according to the same critic “the pupils are merely regarded by the average teachers for their

monetary value on the days of examinations.” The system was abolished in 1920.

Critique of the dual system
One of the most important, if not the most important document that has impacted the evolution of the education system was the Wynn-Williams/Bain Gray report. Among the many harsh criticisms of the system was that only poor administration could be expected from divided control between the Board of Education and the denominations, and the lack of powers for the Commissioner of education. He recognised the contribution of the churches to education but blamed the poor physical conditions of the schools on an undefined division of control between church and state which enabled both to avoid responsibility.

The rest of this section draws from two pieces of work. M. K. Bacchus’ “The Study of Change in a Plural Society: The Influence of Political Development of Church Control of Schools in Guyana.” and Harold A. Lutchman’s “Administrative Change in an Ex Colonial Setting: A Study of Education Administration in Guyana 1961-1964.” Lutchman pointed out that there was dissatisfaction over appointments and promotion because many of the teachers who secured appointments and promotion were not necessarily the best qualified but who belonged to the “right” denominational body and were the most militant members. This resulted in significant discrimination against Indians, except those who were Christians, or were prepared to adopt the Christian faith. Additionally, frequent delays were experienced in filling vacancies because of disagreements between the denominational bodies and the Ministry over appointments. Opportunities for promotion were also limited. Moreover the system of management was also fragmentary. He also pointed to several merits of the system especially in the more efficient way the denominational bodies managed schools and took care of the welfare of their teachers in the interior locations. Lutchman discusses the attempts to abolish the system and the reasons for failure. He pointed out that in 1960 an attempt to abolish the system failed because of opposition from the denominational bodies while the attempt between 1961 and 1964 only resulted in the taking over of 51 schools constructed with government funds. He pointed out that abolition was bound up with the matter of race and religion but more importantly the political realities of the period in the growing divide between the P.P.P on the one hand and the P.N.C./U.F. coalition on the other.

Bacchus’ criticisms of the deficiencies of the system are similar. He discussed the reasons why the attempts to change the system by the P.P.P. in 1953 and 1957-61 and the P.N.C. 1961-68 failed. Both writers looked at the same constitutional and socio- political circumstances but their analyses of the circumstances and the way in which they impacted on the failure to bring about change differ. Bacchus blamed the P.P.P.’s failure to change the system between 1957-1960 on the fact that the government still did not control the apparatus of the state, and faced significant opposition from the denominational bodies and the opposition. The latter reason was also cited in respect of failure to change the system between 1961 and 64.

In January 1968, the government published a Memorandum on Education Policy in which was set out in some detail the ways in which it proposed to deal with all aspects of education policy. It was not, however, until 1976 that many of its proposals, including abolition of the dual system, came to fruition.