Mahdia letter: ‘it is difficult to teach content that was learned in English in our dialect’

This letter is a response to an article written by Vishani Ragobeer and published in The Guyana Chronicle on 4 June 2023. To hear this letter read in Patamuna, please scroll down.

Dear Miss Ragobeer,

In response to your article dated 4 June 2023, I commend you for highlighting several sore areas that affect hinterland communities. First, I would like to point out that the problems are not unique to Guyana, therefore the government can research and discover how other nations have resolved similar problems in the past and then apply those strategies to curb the problem.

You mentioned geographical challenges that continue to affect us in the interior. Although I agreed with most of the alternatives you mentioned in your article, I would like to share my opinion on some of them. You referred to President Ali’s consideration of building schools in each village to accommodate high-school children. Realistically speaking, I do not think this will solve the problem since most of the villages have a limited number of students and sometimes there are no high-school-age children in an area.

I believe that providing a dormitory in the most populated area is still the best option, however additional safety protocols need to be implemented, such as the installation of fire alarms in the building and smoke detectors, employment of more house parents, employment of counselors to work at schools, and maybe a center for parents to stay at when they visit their child/children during the school term. I have heard parents complaining about not having a place to stay when they bring their children back to the dorms, therefore they cannot spend more than one day with their children until the term ends, when they come to take their children home.

Another challenge that we face in the interior is the language barrier. Language is very important in education, to interact in the learning environment and comprehend the content of the curriculum. Unfortunately, some learners have language difficulties. We all know that English is the second language of Indigenous people, as such it is difficult to teach content or a concept to a learner that is now learning to speak English. Although speaking in our dialect is not limited in schools, it is difficult to teach content that was learned in English in our dialect, for students to understand in Patamona and then write it in English when they are asked to. To tackle this issue, I think parent support groups can be implemented where parents can freely share how they have dealt with similar issues. Government can provide incentives for such groups to attract more members as well as to maintain the group.

Additionally, internet connectivity has been significantly affecting education in the interior since students and teachers in these areas are expected to take the same workload as those in Georgetown. Students are expected to do online research and download templates for technical drawing and other subject areas. Teachers are expected to upload samples of SBAs (School Based Assessments), and sometimes submit a record if the need arises for online submission. Although these activities are done by those that can access E-gov wifi (government-funded internet), the connection is mostly unstable. So if ten people are connected to the internet, just imagine the frustration you will have to endure because of not being able to complete a task. If you are sitting in the government office while reading my letter I am pretty sure you will understand what I am talking about, but the e-gov internet connection is 10 times poorer in the hinterland regions compared to Georgetown.

Therefore, I believe that the government needs to upgrade the system to some other service provider that can work better in rural areas. There are private businesses that provide internet services in the village, however they are very expensive and most of us cannot afford them due to several economic challenges that you mentioned in your article. Therefore, I think that government needs to change and upgrade the internet provider in the hinterland communities so that we can keep abreast with what’s happening in the rest of Guyana.

I am pretty sure that most of my indigenous brothers and sisters are not aware of the ONE GUYANA initiative that was launched years ago. This is just one example of how clueless we are in the absence of a tool that keeps the global community connected.

In closing, I would like to commend you once again for boldly voicing many of the challenges that affect Indigenous people.

Sincerely yours,

Marcia John
Patamona pachi from Paramakatoi

Listen to the letter read in Patamuna