An irresistible force meets an immovable object

From all appearances schools are closed. Children are at home because their teachers have opted to resort to strike action over better pay. This strike began on February 5, 2024. It was supposed to be for two weeks. Knowing the near pauper situation of the teachers and public servants, many sceptics believed that the strike would not have lasted for two weeks.

At the same time, there were those who know that the government hates a prolonged strike. The view was that the government would have intervened before the end of the second week. That has not happened. The strike is now into its fourth week and there has been no government intervention. There is also no sign that the teachers would call off their strike.

Children are therefore at home. Some do go to school where a skeleton staff attempt to teach. Others have to struggle to ensure that they do not lose learning time. There was a lot of downtime during the COVID pandemic that ran from 2020 to 2022. There were innovations. Guyana attempted to be like the rest of the world by introducing online learning. That was an abject failure. All over the world the analysts found that learning declined horribly. There are now children who are struggling to catch up to where they might have been had there been regular classes.

So it was that when Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told a press conference that the government might resort to online learning, the striking teachers smiled, and the parents panicked. The latter saw the effect on their children. There is not enough internet connection. Computers are also markedly scarce. Further, none but teachers and others who have an interest in children, would know about the attention span of children. Do not be fooled by the length of time one can see these children staring at a computer screen or at their cell phones.

Already, the phones have the children emerging as semi-literates. The spelling is now out of this world as is their communication skills. Further, school work is seen as a drudgery because the system simply does not have the material to make learning exciting in most schools. Many years ago when I was in my early teens, there was a massive strike in this country. In fact, there were three coming one year after the other. As a country boy I could not attend school in the city during the duration of the strike.

During the first strike, my mother simply sent me back to the school from which I graduated. I did not lose much. The next year, it was slightly worse because of the outbreak of violence in the streets. There was no school then for nearly three months. That strike was said to be the longest strike in the history of the Commonwealth. That record no longer stands. There were the strikes in 1964 and again in 1999. Some children fell by the wayside. But the strong parental grip on the family and the national opportunities saw parents directing their children to meaningful activities.

They became the carpenters and masons and other skilled people. Many became policemen, nurses and a few became teachers because their education was great. Guyanese were considered the most brilliant people in the Caribbean. Today, since reading is fast becoming a lost art and since there are so many poor people that they cannot afford special tuition, Guyana is running the risk of losing even more people from the mainstream.

These days there are many distractions, not least among them, guns. Schools are therefore the bridge between a developing society and a violent one.

President of the Guyana Teachers Union, Mark Lyte, said that the union agonised over this decision to strike. However, he said that the union was left with no choice. He said that for nearly four years the union has been making recommendations to the government but got nothing. The teachers are holding out and the children are having an unwanted holiday. Already there are so many young people who cannot read. This strike is fueling that condition.

And it is having a ripple effect on the rest of society. Those operating public transport are beginning to complain about the loss of income. Those people who vend in the vicinity of schools are also affected. The ranks of the poor are growing. I am in no position to offer advice to either the teachers or the government. When a similar situation developed in 2018, a mere five years ago, the government was quick to meet with the teachers to resolve the issue.

To date, there is no such meeting. This seems to be a case of an irresistible force meeting with an immovable object. There have been other indications of the effect of the strike. The Mash parade in the city was lifeless. The vivacious dancers were no better than a church group walking behind a band. Even the crowds that lined the Mash route appeared smaller.

Guyana can do without this strike. Already people have been comparing the teachers’ salary with what their counterparts earn in other Caribbean countries. They have found that the local teachers are the worst paid. And to make matters worse, some of the striking teachers are looking to greener pastures. Guyana saw what happened to its nursing population. The result has been poor health care at the public institutions.

Guyana did experience a teacher migration in the past. The result was horrific. Foreign people were so bold as to come into the country to recruit teachers. They came from all parts, some from as far as Africa and the teachers went. I wish someone can make a call. Will the union call the Education Ministry? Will someone from the government approach the teachers? For now, the teachers are being paid despite their protest.