Every time the news cycle headlines are dominated by Queen’s College, one word proceeds from the lips of most observers in households across Guyana, elitism. There is immediate chatter about these privileged bourgeoisies who have no right to complain about anything under the sun. I maintain, as I always have, it is laughable and comical to place every student who has donned the black and gold tie in the corner of elitism, insofar as this connotes a special privileged group who are part of some small exclusive wealthy circle that controls the Guyana society. Those days have long passed in Guyana and the myth must be busted.
In the recent CXC imbroglio, this knee-jerk reaction has regrettably manifested yet again. As a consequence, it behooves those who have had this experience to testify that the ethos of Queen’s College is in direct contradiction to this concept.
HISTORY, SCHOOLS,ELITISM
The origins of this urban legend are rooted in history. When Queen’s College was founded by Bishop William Piercy Austin in 1844 as a Grammar School located at the site which once hosted St. George’s School, the elitist tag may have been fair and well placed. The reason being, access to this school was limited to members of the Church of England. It was a time of high colonialism where economic, ethnic, political and religious interests were entrenched and closely wrapped up in education. This was par for the education course during this period and was not limited to QC. St. Roses (Ursuline), Bishop’s (Government), St. Joseph (Ursuline), Saint Stanislaus (Jesuits) were all fraught with strict codes for entry and were steeped in the idea in wanton elitism. However, as time elapsed and society progressed, the reality of these schools being attended by a privileged few was completely diluted, if not expunged. It is worth noting, a sledgehammer was taken to the concept of upper-class schools when Minister of Education and Social Development, Cecilene Baird led the passage of the Constitution Amendment Bill No.12 on the 11th of September 1976 in the Guyana Parliament. The nationalisation of education sounded the death knell on exclusive schools.
There is certainly enough evidence that merit the concerns why centuries after its establishment, Queen’s College has been left on this misplaced name-calling island all on its own.
BURNHAM, JAGAN AND RODNEY
It should be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to sustain the argument that the culture of the post-colonial QC is that of a ‘rich people’ school filled with snobs who hold contempt for other social classes. This contestation runs into trouble when one considers the fact that its most notable icons have been the architects of the most revolutionary activism, ideas and policies geared towards the upliftment of the poor and downtrodden. It was Forbes Burnham who grandiloquently stated, ‘It is time we get rid of these cram shops which call themselves schools and operate for the pecuniary benefit of a few individuals…’, when he sought to end elitism in the school system and it was he who introduced the concept of ‘the small man, becoming the real man’. It was Dr. Jagan who emerged from Port Mourant Primary to attend QC in 1933 and went on to be President of Guyana and demanded ‘A New Global Human Order’ with the poor being at the center of development. The Working People’s Alliance (WPA), once touted as the only genuine working-class party, was founded by Dr. Walter Rodney and it was he who was declared persona non-grata on October 15th, 1968 by the Shearer-led Jamaican government for grounding with his brothers. To this day, Walter Rodney is revered by the Rastafarian community in Jamaica, listen to the music of Chronixx and Protégé.
As you may have gathered by now, it is unfair to draw general conclusions about a learning institution, based on a few encounters.
