| By Clarence O. Perry Used correctly, education will build for us a prosperous and democratic Guyanese nation. Used wrongly, it will continue to destroy us.There is so much more that can be written on the relationship between the lack of quality education and the incidence of violence in our schools and in the Guyanese society. Suffice to say: “the longest journey begins with the first step”.I have attempted to point a way forward by discussing the issue of violence in our schools and what steps should be taken to reduce the problem from a human development perspective.I hope that I have illustrated quite clearly that the organisation of schooling and current practices within the school system are primary factors that contribute to violence and the violation of human dignity in our schools, and ultimately in the wider Guyanese society. The greater our awareness of the extent of the issue, the better will be our understanding of what is involved.When these conditions have been met, our commitment to a new set of values will be based on prior knowledge. All that is now needed is the catalyst – the political will to accept the challenge and to embark on the journey of “constructive social change” in Guyana without further delay. Tomorrow may never come.In this case our smallness is, most decidedly, an advantage. It ought not to be beyond our collective capacities and capabilities to craft a system of quality education that would be in the vanguard of Guyana’s transformation towards “cycles of relational dignity and respectful engagement”.Those Guyanese who are unconcerned, complacent and who, despite the continually worsening environment, still wish to cling to a colonial and irrelevant philosophy of education, need to become aware of the dire consequences of perpetuating the status quo in Guyanese education.As the numbers of the unemployed, unemployable (functionally illiterate) and miscreants increase, not only will the available national tax base (revenue) to fund much needed social infrastructure, social services and public amenities shrink, but each successive year an increasing portion of this shrinking tax base, and indeed an increasing portion of our very own personal incomes, will be consumed by the expanding non-productive sectors – the security services, law enforcement, prisons and their attendant agencies.These services produce no products, create no wealth but rather consume, sometimes wastefully, the wealth created by other workers in the productive sectors. Surely this is not a prudent use of our scarce resources.As a consequence the quality of our social services (education, health, recreation facilities, water supply and waste disposal) will deteriorate even further. There is already great concern about the quality of individuals available for employment and recruitment into certain branches of the public service and the private sector.If the present rate of deterioration in our social environment continues, all our lives and all our property will be at risk.Advantages and privileges of birth will be no guarantee against the bitter harvest when the chickens come home to roost.In summary, the thrust of my argument is: the quality of education that is available in Guyana must be vastly improved and made to contribute in more substantial ways to holistic human development. Only a quality system of education has the potential to minimize violence in schools and, also ultimately, minimize violence in the wider Guyanese society.Until such time that a quality system of education is established in Guyana, then the economic, social, intellectual and psychological conditions essential to nurture and sustain the Guyanese emerging democracy will continue to elude us, while our present educational practice will remain a significant internal threat to our fledgling democracy.There has been much said about the amount of money spent on education in Guyana. This may very well be true. Yet, it is evident that our investment in education is not big enough, and what is more, not effective enough. We usually get what we pay for.The evidence of social decadence is pervading. The costs of ignorance are astronomical when compared to the costs of a quality education system. From all indications Guyana has the money to develop a quality education system.The key to this development is to offer better remuneration packages to competent education professionals.I have restricted my comments to the Guyanese situation. This is not to be interpreted to mean that they have no relevance for other English speaking Caribbean territories. If my comments merit the attention of a regional audience, maybe we can begin to hope that the “West Indies” will return to their winning ways in world cricket and that the Caribbean Single Market Economy will cease to be a mirage.To conclude this discussion on factors that contribute to the phenomenon of violence in our schools, it cannot be over-emphasized that: (a) we cannot plant limes and hope to reap oranges; (b) what we want our nation to be, we must first put in our schools; and, (c) the curriculum must now be seen as the “means” rather than the “end”, as “servant” rather than “master”; and, most importantly (d) everything is connected to everything else everywhere.Used correctly, education will build for us a prosperous and democratic Guyanese nation. Used wrongly, it will continue to destroy us. |
