Another school year is about to begin. Parents are busy ensuring that their children have all their books, supplies and uniforms. Teachers are busy preparing their classrooms and making plans for their students. Students, while sad that the vacation is over, are still eager to see what the new school year has in store. A new school year heralds yet another opportunity not only to impart knowledge but to shape citizens and to mould the kind of society in which we all want to live. One in which we have the knowledge and skills required to excel in our chosen field –where we can coexist peacefully and enjoy a high quality of life. What goes on in school matters, not only in the short term but also in the long term; not only to our students but to our society.
Why then, as a country, have we not had a serious debate about the system of education in Anguilla? I am sure that those working in the education system do this among themselves. But at a national level, why have we not taken the time to seriously analyse the system: examine its strengths and its shortcomings, its successes and failures. Shouldn’t this be one of the main topics of the political campaigns? Shouldn’t this be the subject of debate in the House of Assembly? Isn’t this worthy of meaningful national discourse? It saddens me to think that in this day and age, with all the advancements in science and technology, the global issues of climate change and economic recession, the escalated pace of development and doing business that it seems, as a country, that we have not recognized that without an educated populace we will be left behind.
In my view many of our political leaders and aspirants only pay lip service to education. Education gets mentioned on political platforms alongside health care because those are two topics every politician knows he/she must say are important to him/her. But that is about the extent of it. We want to hear about the capital investment plan to redevelop our school buildings. We want to hear about the plans for a proper facility for technical and vocational education. We want to hear about how we are going to reduce violence in school. Isn’t it time we think about having more than one secondary school? Isn’t it time we discuss whether the different campuses are the best option for us? Isn’t it time we paid more attention to pre-school education? We want to hear about how we are going to reach more children through the use of technology and how we are going to equip our teachers so that they can be more effective. What about subsidizing the cost of textbooks, or paying examination fees, as is done in many countries in our region? These are the things we are interested in. These are the things that demonstrate that education is of great national significance.
I challenge all those aspiring to political office to use your platforms to begin this conversation. Make education reform one of the hallmarks of your campaign. Tell us what you would like to see accomplished and how you propose to get it done. Tell us how you will fund the reforms that are necessary. Tell us how your proposals will translate into success for our students and our nation in general. Don’t pay lip service. We want to hear your plan.
We the citizens must also challenge ourselves. I have been to several forums on education over the years and, while a wealth of information is shared, the attendance is usually dismal, to say the least, despite being widely publicized. This says to me that, as citizens, we too have not yet grasped the magnitude of the transformational effect that an educated populace can have on every aspect of our society. Many of us are heard saying that we want our children to have an education so they could get a good job. Now that jobs are scarce, is education any less important? Absolutely not! The value of education is much more than a job or self-sufficiency.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan put it best when he said: “Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development.”
With such fundamental issues being impacted by education, it is time that we sit up and pay attention. The school bell rings! School is in!
