Dear Editor,
The Minister of Education, in his old age, is designing a new layout for exam papers.
What the Minister of Education does not know is the world of computer programming, its joys, and drawbacks. Because of age, they are wallowing in forgetfulness.
He is not like the President who summons all Cabinet Ministers to argue something he wants to implement within the society. The Minister of Education, I am sure failed to call his Head of Departments and discuss his Cabinet demand of his colleague’s moves or motives to be implemented in the Guyanese society. Such a decision is backward and defies democracy. The MoE is dictatorial or the Minister may have used a few persons to dictate his views on Grade 6 Exams in Guyana.
I want to agree with Priya Manickchand that the view expressed by the Ministry of Education is studded with subjectivity, victimization, profiling and insecurity of students. Such an explanation released by the MoE should be divulged to parents beforehand.
Incidentally, I can vividly remember when the Minister of Education clamoured for parents to form a PTA in keeping with consultative democracy to consult with teachers on issues affecting them in order to promulgate the process of democracy.
The real advice would have been to spend money to implement a massive project which requires people consultation to explain the new examination structure.
This empirical research could have been used to get the nation’s views on education and other issues. But to just come out from the blues and dictate this new feature for students putting their names on test papers is called ‘bullyism in education’. This never happened in Guyana.
This kind of administration by the APNU/AFC reflects a more Burnham, a dictator who was the President. I am calling on the nation to vigorously protest and reject the views of the Ministry of Education and stymie government fruitless ideas.
I am of the view that asking students to put their names on the examination papers is disrespecting students by exposing them to a database for further verification and to reveal their secrecy.
Will there be a reverse in this situation, I ask?
Sincerely,
Chandradat
Deonandan,
Canada
