…in the air
Well, education’s certainly in the air!! Once again, our high schools have outperformed all others in the entire Caribbean in the CSEC and CAPE exams – with one student copping TWENTY-NINE subjects!! Your Eyewitness can’t even imagine what’s rattling around in that kid’s head!! After all, all these kids need to enter the next rung on the educational ladder are English, Maths and three other subjects at CSEC!! Used to be that the extra subjects were meant to get the attention of those folks in officialdom who doled out scholarships, but those days are long gone!!
There’s now the “Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL)” programme that the government of Dr Irfaan Ali launched back in 2021. They’ve already surpassed their goal (pun intended!!) to sign 20,000 John Hancocks on the dotted line in their first term, and there’s a whole year to go!! These scholarships are tendered in universities across the world -including UWI. Some of their graduates have already entered the workforce and, hopefully, we’ll be getting a feel as to how effective this “on-line” learning’s gonna be. Whatever the results, we better get used to this “extra” extra-distance learning format. Everything’s going remote these days – even working from home!!
So, where does this leave UG, which is graduating some 3500 newly-minted students – one of the largest cohorts ever! – from its more-than 60 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes!! These include the Natural Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Forestry, Urban Planning and Management, Tourism Studies, Education, Creative Arts, Economics, Law, Medicine, Optometry, and Nursing!! Whew!! Your Eyewitness can see that there’s gonna be a whole lotta chests puffed out and heads in the air come next week – when all these graduates start knocking on doors pleading to join the workforce!!
But the question your Eyewitness has is: How qualified are these graduates for the new economy, that’s being created so fast that it makes your head spin!! Take, for instance, all the hospitals that the Government’s building all over the country. These would need hundreds of doctors, thousands of nurses and technicians, and countless persons trained in the ancillary services. Are we preparing enough of these so’s not to be caught with our gowns down??
Then, of course, there’re all the skilled welders and other blue-collar workers that the exponential number of infrastructural projects are gonna demand. Are the TVET and industrial schools we have churning enough of these to fill the demand?? Your Eyewitness hopes that Sociology and International Relations graduates from US won’t outnumber the other “skills” once again!! Maybe the Government should refine that planned cancellation of fees to UG to just those areas the economy needs!!
We gotta decide exactly what “education” means for our country in the new dispensation!!
…of the Opposition Leader
PNC leader Aubrey Norton just announced that he and AFC leader Nigel Hughes are gonna be sitting down to have a parley on a coalition arrangement to contest the 2025 elections. Now, right off the bat, your Eyewitness wants to know if Norton has given up on the “APNU coalition” with those powerful four parties – which booted him out when he evidently didn’t show up for their meetings!! So, having rebranded the fearsome PNC name, is he walking it back?? Or does he realize everyone took the coalition for exactly what it was – a fig leaf for the PNC??
Anyhow, exactly what would he be offering the AFC?? Last go around, they forged their coalition on Valentine’s Day – with all the roses and chocolate demanded to assure the then AFC leader and his party that they won’t become Dead Meat!! So, if this time the deed is done on Christmas Day – black cake and mauby will be offered?
Anyhow, your Eyewitness gonna pass on the question of who’s gonna be the (Maximum) Leader!!
…in politics
Reiterating his earlier statements, Norton insisted, “We believe coalition should reflect the strength of the political parties”. So, does he consider the WPA so minuscule they aren’t even being invited to the parley?? Ah…the overreach of kingmakers!!
