The education minister is far the most significant portfolio within cabinet

Dear Editor

As a citizen I welcome Minister Sonia Parag as the new Minister of Education.

In the circumstances of Guyana education, in its wider sense, is perhaps by far the most significant portfolio within the cabinet. A thorough education of a nation state must go beyond the traditional three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic).

My recent experiences which I will, in part, refer to later must identify our villains and our heroes, and place our future on the foundation of an understanding of where we can from and where we are, and the strength to go forward boldly into the very complex and challenging world. In other words, the student’s knowledge of all our unvarnished history is of vital importance. We have lost at least two generations and this task requires all hands on board, if our future is to be glorious and not damned. The sharing of knowledge and our history provides the foundation upon which we build a solid, secure, and safe society.

The Encyclopedia of Philosophy; Great Man Theory of History, reminds us: Any generalization that affirms the historical significance of outstanding human individuals can be termed as a “great man theory of history”. The expression has been most frequently used in reference to the comprehensive claims to the effect that great men are the key to the intelligibility of history; it is also applied, however, to generalizations that merely states how great men, as one factor among others, are historically significant.

For the past few months I have engaged in conversation with students, secondary school age fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, these youngsters will have a constitutional right to vote at elections in 2030, therefore what they know and think are of great importance. I give a few examples; I was speaking with a family who lives in Festival City, both young parent and student knew nothing of the area they lived in, and how it got its name. I explained its history to the group, relating, how, when the need arose to house scores of delegates, artistes, and invitees from South America, the Caribbean, and parts of North Africa for Carifesta ‘72, the popular view was that, with the time available, they could not provide adequate housing, what ever you may think of Forbes Burnham, he had a special talent to identify individuals to produce results, unbelievable results. Burnham identified Anthony Bernard Fernandes better known as Bonny Fernandes, and give him full authority to dispense with burdensome bureaucracy; I was telling the group how Bonny Fernandes, in time for the opening of CARIFESTA ‘72, had plumbing, electricity, roads, and the houses fully furnished to accommodate the numbers who came for the first Festival of Creative Arts in Guyana. The family I engaged knew nothing about Anthony Fernandes exploits, but what was even more troubling when speaking to some of these teenagers they never heard that Guyana hosted the first Carifesta.

Equally troubling was that these youngsters who I spoke with separately knew nothing of Dr Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, father of the trade union movement in the Caribbean Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow and Enmore Martyrs. Believe it or not they also knew nothing about great Guyanese cricketers Clive Lloyd, Rohan Khanai and Lance Gibbs. As I pursued discussions, with only two exceptions, these teenagers fourteen, fifteen years old has never once sat around a table with parents, aunties, or grandparents to talk as I put to them “ole time stories” and their family and community history. They say ignorance of where we came from is perhaps one of the most debilitating sicknesses of a people.

Our leaders of business, commerce, religion, politics, the media, and civil society will be advised to address this weakness which I believe is pervasive in every corner of Guyana. Our institutions of learning must avoid the unfolding tragedy of another generation that knows little of the roots and consequently the slightest concept of ancestral piety.

The time to act together is now, putting this off history will not be kind to us. The English poet Edward Young reminds us: “Procrastination is the thief of time”.

Yours truly,

Hamilton Green

Elder