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Forthright this will be, for as a product of the underprivileged bloodline, such a persona is wedded to my DNA. But unsurprisingly, this is not the disposition of many, for despite our politics clearly demarcated black and white, some would rather sit precariously on the political fence. Certainly, the consequences of such a quasi-neutrality is self-evident, with a political fall being least of their worries. But such a discourse is for a brighter day, as urgent matters of why such opportunistic fence sitters have a proclivity for APNU+AFC, taking preeminence. Unmistakably, their hanging onto the coattails of many is beyond nauseating to say the least but certainly not as jaw dropping as their public proclamations of no political persuasion. But shockingly, an APNU+AFC win and their political quasi-neutrality is aborted as they unashamedly move with urgent haste to the front of the political appointees’ line. So Athena I beseeched, the Greek Goddess of wisdom, to provide me the sagacity to discern why such political hanger-ons are conspicuously absent in the PPP. And indeed with a flash of light, Solomon’s wisdom was mine; They are cognisant that APNU+AFC is forgiving of opportunistic fence sitters but most importantly, such a posture keeps them in good-stead with the PPP.
Freedom over fences
And surely these fence sitters “no comment” list is unashamedly immeasurable. For PPP discriminations, 2020 to the visually impaired, yet they sat on the fence. For even the cane toads ascertained that the Americans empowered the PPP, yet they sat on the fence. For the Henry boys were butchered, yet they sat on the fence. Success houses flooded, yet they sat on the fence. Hundreds of Black Public Servants discriminately fired, yet they sat on the fence. Innocent Gecom employees imprisoned, yet they sat on the fence. Covid deaths exponentially increasing, yet they sat on the fence. APNU Chairwoman, Mrs. Lawrence persecuted, yet they sat on the fence. For a year our children are without schooling, yet they sat on the fence. And astonishingly, one of the political fence sitters is a teacher. How can you sit on the fence lecturing on “myths of modern QC elitism”, even as our children are denied an education, for over 52 weeks? Certainly, this is not just being tone deaf; for unless one experienced the pangs of poverty, laborious it will be to appreciate why education we embrace.
Indeed, folks like myself are where we are because of our academic ability and not daddy’s cheque books. Many impoverished children are today begging for such an opportunity. For they are too poor to afford private tutors. Too poor to afford computer teaching softwares. No daddy’s cheque book to bolster their Covid academic shortcomings. Their only hope is public-schooling. That the fence sitters can’t champion but rather shamelessly shield behind the neo-political escutcheon of “Moderates.” Moderate in a time of injustice. But thankfully excluded from their Moderates compilation is Mandela, MLK, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman etc. And thankfully those selfless heroes chose our freedom over fences.
Why are we here?
Granted, PPP saw this pandemic was and still is causing mayhem worldwide, yet the economy was shown priority, on account of PSC billionaires’ directives. And a catastrophe it turned out be, for its underpinning wasn’t birth out of prudence but rather an irreversible decree, decision by a simple bush pilot accredited with prescriptive powers on matters of life and death. And the consequence is, in the midst of our children perennial non-educating, Priya Manickchand dressed to the nines announced that she is awaiting advice from the NCTF on reopening schools. Frustratingly, such an unschooled pronouncement mandates an edifying illumination.
My Dear Lady, surely knowledge must be yours that reopening schools isn’t determinant Advanced Level Pythagoras Einsteinian Calculus, for very basic it is. Deaths and cases are exponentially increasing. The variants are running amok. Shall we hazard a guess? Keep school-doors indefinitely sealed. Further my Lady, this isn’t a simple matter of kids racing into schools on NCTF clearance. For Covid mandates mitigation strategies, as per WHO Checklist, which your Ministry hasn’t addressed. Schools will need ventilation systems to clear the Covid air. In-class partitions to protect from neighbouring bioaerosol. Adequate hand sanitisers and water supplies etc. Surely, you may wish to quit the dramatising since your PPP knew that schools aren’t reopening anytime soon.
Children first
And state I must, with no apologies, that countries where leaders have skulls with brains, think children first. For Britain prioritised schools reopening, which they did. Further, extended school hours along with summer schools are being considered, to mitigate the 6 months of missed in-class teaching. Furthermore, America has similar thinking, as President Biden fights tooth and nail with the Teachers Unions, to have American children back in school. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the Europeans are astutely guiding their kids while PPP is setting Guyana back by decades in having our kids as afterthoughts.
Consequences
Certainly, school closures are not benign. For the academic penalties are severe. The social burdens depressing. The mental pains maybe personal but surely will be many. Widening of the inequalities chasm crushing.
And UNESCO estimated the Covid non-education numbers as nearly 1.6 billion children, for a total of 190 countries. But PPP disregarded these statistics, even as experts forecasted this school deprivation as a “social crisis in the making.” And the inescapable truth is; children who regularly miss schools do worse at exams. Further, short-term closures during summer breaks, associated with education regression, have been shown to adversely impact learning outcomes. And unsurprisingly, education experts theorised that the time children spend in education shape their adult IQ. Depressingly, our children futures are hopeless considering the aforementioned, yet PPP careless.
For inequalities are very much evident in Guyana yet the thoughtless and heartless PPP will boast of online and television teaching. But have they ever considered? How many homes in Guyana have a computer or tablet? How many have internet access? How many have televisions? How many parents have the aptitude to supervise their children? Can one hour of online or TV teaching compensate for 6hrs of missed school-day teaching? How will this year of missed schooling impact our country’s development and futures of our children? Certainly, if PPP had considered those, reopening schools would have been a priority.
And education hysteresis, the relationship between prolonged school closure and disengagement, cannot be ignored. For education hysteresis speaks to an extended period away from school with devalued importance the consequence, in the eyes of many students. Data out of France revealed that 8% of students weren’t contactable, two weeks after school closure. In Los Angeles, 13% weren’t contactable three weeks after the lockdown. The painful reality is that the vast majority of these children, disproportionately from low socio-economic groups, will completely disengage from the education system. But this hasn’t bothered PPP. For their short-term thinking deludes their belief that simply reopening schools will solve all our children woes. But certainly, prematurely reopening the economy as schools remain closed, will bring short-term gains but what about the long-term social, mental, financial and economic cost? PPP-is it worth it?