(See Full Statement) The Alliance for Change (AFC), has just concluded its listening and grounding sessions in villages along the North Rupununi, continuing with its interpretivist (qualitative) method of data collection that relies on information generated by citizens to construct meaning from their lived experience, in the fastest growing economy in the world. At this level, the AFC team is getting a better sense of the unspoken rules, practices and experiences in the indigenous communities. The qualitative data gathered in North Rupununi reveals that there is an inequitable distribution of state resources with existential impact on the equality of education in the Hinterland.
Firstly, in the governance context, the government has determined that 26.5 percent allocation of carbon credits be distributed amongst the 242 Hinterland communities without consulting with the indigenous people. They are in receipt of a miniscule presidential grant annually, for example, Surama Village Council received 1.2 million. That figure is approximately the same for all indigenous villages in oil rich Guyana. This year, in total, the 242 Amerindian villages received 36 million for welfare compared to 36 billion given to the failing sugar industry over the last four years. This government’s inequitable budgetary allocation is a glaring reality of where its priority lies. That is the unequal distribution of resources to our Amerindian communities versus an electoral agenda. This political greed has not benefited succeeding generations as it barred a large percentage of children from accessing a quality education and job opportunities off plantation life.
Amerindian Communities are scattered along the Lethem trail and it’s common knowledge that paved roads brings economic activities and decentralization of services, which create employment in agrarian societies. The construction of the Linden to Lethem road was signed under the Coalition government with a grant from the UK Caribbean Infrastructure Fund (UKCIF) and a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). Interestingly, the Vice President wanted to divert the grant to another project but the UK government remained firm on building the road. The Kurupukari bridge feasibility study was also done at the same time but the PPP cancelled the project .This government which is in receipt of billions of oil revenues has not continued with the remainder of the road from Mabura to Lethem nor the construction of the bridge project to better the lives of indigenous people.
In Toka, one of the Village Councilors’ petitioned that a paved road from Bush mouth to Toka will facilitate easier access to schools given that students have to traverse miles. In Annai, the Deputy Toshaos informed that 73 students from surrounding villages walk 4 miles in the heated sun to reach Annai Secondary School. The Toshaos approved the purchasing of a bus to transport students through a supplemental budget allocation, but there is still no bus, students trek the trails, to grab an education – does this government have political morality?
The government has been constructing schools but that is only a “physical structure.” The soft infrastructure and resources are largely missing to effect optimal learning outcomes – the Hinterland needs far more resources as teachers have limited means to continuous training, primary school students have poor or no internet access for research, limited text books and coupled with poor electric power – these are structural problems which limit learning opportunities.
There are 242 Indigenous communities across Guyana and the Government can provide StarLink internet to all Hinterland communities immediately, which will cost a miniscule percentage from oil revenues. Hinterland students are at a severe disadvantage to access basic information for NGSA – this year results correlates as no student from region 7,8 and 9 was placed in the top 1 percent at Queens College; and very few hinterland students were placed in one of the top 5 national schools.
Alarmingly, this year, 465 students in Region 9 wrote Mathematics at CSEC but not one student attained a grade 1. In fact, 90 percent of the students fell below the Grade 3 pass mark. Retroactively in 2022, not one student in the Hinterland passed with a grade 1 while the coastal regions attained more than 20 grade 1 – this could be considered education apartheid.
The Coalition government provided 200 internet hot spots in Hinterland Communities at government institutions, health centres and schools. In Region 9 at Surama, St.Ignatius, Fairview, Annai,Toka, Aranaputa, Lethem, to name a few. This Government with all the oil revenues lacks in updating and maintaining the internet infrastructure. Even worse, there is limited expansion of internet service and equipment has been removed from villages, as in Samara.
One objective of government policy should be social equity with related goals to promote equality of opportunity; meet the needs of those who are least well off and to provide social safety nets and transitional assistance. “If broadly shared view develops in society that the governing structures are unfair, then this can lead to high levels of social unrest.”
The AFC pleads that the government must take action and invest in early childhood education, which reduces income inequality between urban and rural people, in the longer term. Firstly, access to high quality early childhood education can create equality of opportunity, accumulate human capital and increase social mobility of the rural and migrant children. Secondly, investing in early childhood education has the highest economic returns. There is a broad consensus in the literature and empirical studies that spending programmes on education can have more effective redistribution than programmes with taxes. Thirdly, studies have shown that investing in early childhood education has significant beneficial effects on long-term educational attainment and earnings. It has also proven to be effective in closing gaps in education and have positive impacts on the further earning capacity of children.
Equality of opportunity is viewed as a basic right for all people in many countries; hence, governments make heavy financial commitments in the education sector. The future – our children must be our most valuable resource, worthy of investment.
