“It is not good enough for teachers to just open the school doors and do their duty and teach. I want teachers to do their duties consciously… always looking for results!”
Tasked with the tremendous responsibility of educating Guyana’s children, Priya Manickchand’s hands-on approach to management is exactly what the system now requires. Although she does not profess to know all the answers, this young lawyer is a keen listener who thinks outside the box. She is tough but fair.
Priya Devi Manickchand first burst onto the political scene in 2006 as a young Minister. While in charge of Human Services and Social Security, she piloted several critical Bills that were passed in the National Assembly and enacted into law. These include: The Protection of Children Act; The Adoption of Children Act; The Status of Children Act; The Childcare and Development Services Act; The Sexual Offences Act; and The Custody, Contact, Guardianship and Maintenance of Children Act.
She also managed to get through the National Assembly, the Childcare and Protection Agency Act, which in turn established that Agency with its own rules, regulations and governing legislation, making it an almost autonomous body devoted to the sole purpose of Childcare and Protection of children.
At the time of passage, these pieces of legislation were all revolutionary in their outlook and objectives. Manickchand explained that one such piece of legislation under The Status of Children Act deals with a topic that most persons don’t necessarily like to discuss.
“What happens to a child who is born out of marriage…What is his or her status? The question is an important one, because there are laws that cater for how children born to a wedded couple are treated. But what about those crudely referred to as “bastards?”
Further she queried “What is the status of a child born by test-tube procedure? This is our child, this is Guyana’s child!”
The mandatory provisions for children born out of wedlock were not clearly defined in the laws of Guyana, despite the prevalent existence of this phenomenon, and for Manickchand, this was something that had to be addressed. She questioned where such a child would fit into the scheme of things in terms of inheritance and other such instances where children born in wedlock were clearly defined by law.
She spoke of the genesis of the adoption of children and said that she was eager enough to ensure that the process was made friendlier for the children and the persons interested in adopting a child.
“Protection of Children was a huge piece of legislation for me, because it really defined how we are going to go forward as a nation… So often we hear people say that ‘oh, I am only the teacher, and it is not my responsibility.’”
This is a thing of the past now, because the legislation which was piloted by Minister Manickchand now places obligations on persons such as teachers, police and pastors, among others, to have to disclose information if they have knowledge of, or see signs that would indicate a child being in harm’s way.
As Human Services Minister, she also spearheaded the establishment of the Childcare and Protection Unit,with just five persons who were tasked with dealing with a range of matters relating to children. This soon grew into a full-fledged Agency with its own Law.
Under Mission Child Protection, an entire home was built to remove children from the streets, and at present this facility houses and provides care for more than 120 children, with a capacity for more than 150.
“For me the establishment of the Childcare and Protection Unit and then the Agency was hugely, hugely important…I saw immediate results from that particular intervention…we saw lives change right before our very eyes.”
In reference to women, Manickchand reflected that one of the interventions that she would herald as being massively successful would be the Women of Worth (WOW) Programme. The Ministry teamed up with the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry to provide loans for Low Income Single Parent women without having to put up collateral. This programme allowed single parent women to establish small businesses that would provide for their children.
This was a crucial venture, as according to Manickchand, women make up half of the world’s population but control a minimal amount of world’s wealth, “and in Guyana it is no different. Most women don’t have assets… No car or bus, and certainly no house to put up as collateral to borrow some money.”
Another crucial piece of legislation that Minister Manickchand is proud of, is the passage of the Sexual Offences Act that offers protection and makes it easier for persons to report heinous acts of rape.
She also expanded access to Legal Aid Services to cover the majority of Guyana, inclusive of the hinterland, and for children to access legal services.
But what exactly drives this young professional to have achieved so much in such a short time in government?
Manickchand says she is not sure that she can isolate any one trait that motivates her, but describes herself as a very results-oriented kind of person, with the ability to discern a problem and then, with a good team, in most cases, plan and execute a solution. She says she is glad she has come into a Ministry where the groundwork has been laid.
“There are now more trained teachers across the system, who enjoy the best salary and most benefits that teachers have ever enjoyed before. The country has achieved universal primary education, and 85 per cent of its nursery aged children are in school.
“Guyana is getting the best exam results we have ever gotten as a country in both the primary and secondary sector and there is a concerted drive to attain universal secondary education. More children from the Hinterland can access a good education than ever before. These are simply facts that cannot be disputed,” the Minister asserts emphatically. Still, she recognises there is work to be done.
As Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand is determined not to leave any child behind in the pursuit of academic success. In this regard, she is currently meeting with parents and teachers in an ongoing exercise to determine the needs of each school and of the parents and children of those schools that contribute to poor performances by both students and teachers.
At various meeting in the last few weeks, Minister Manickchand urged teachers to step up to the responsibility of their profession, “It is not good enough for teachers to just open the school doors and do their duty and teach. I want teachers to do their duties consciously… always looking for results!”
Speaking to teachers at East Ruimveldt Primary School, the Minster said “I have seen how many teachers go out and teach every single day and give their heart to teaching. I have seen how committed they are. I know there are exceptions, but I would say without hesitation there are more good teachers than bad ones. And so we ask you today to teach consciously. Know each child in your class and have a plan as to how you will take each child from the place where they are now, today, to a higher place. How are you going to ensure every child leaving your school can read and understand what they are reading?”
Minister Manickchand said that while much has been done, she would like to see an improvement in the quality of education that is delivered. She would particularly like to see the number of children leaving school able to read and understand what they are reading drastically increased. And she is focused on making this happen. She said the Ministry is presently diagnosing where the student population is in this regard and will devise strategies and workable solutions to bridging the gaps that exist.
Improving the rate of matriculation is also high on the Minister’s agenda. This would mean improving the percentage of persons that pass Mathematics and English. The Minister insists that innovative ways have to be employed in this drive. Interesting more children in the sciences and producing more managers for our country is also critical in her view. Meeting the educational needs of children with disabilities is also something the Minister believes must be addressed and is achievable.
“Writing our own text books that would then be available at affordable prices to provide our children with the necessary resources to complement the teaching they receive in the classroom and to be competitive globally is a necessity,” she states.
The Minister is also constantly looking at new ways of evaluating the effect of what is done by the Ministry and the schools.
“Clearly, we have more work to do at the Ministry of Education… We have more monitoring to do. It is one thing to put out fancy policies and fancy programmes, but we have to go into the schools and ensure they are being implemented. Going into the school in this time may very well mean virtually rather physically”
Additionally, at all the meetings, the Minister urges parents to do their part by being good parents. She said a good parent is not necessarily one that has a lot of money or education.
“You can be a good parent simply by asking your child to tell you and show you what he/she has done during school, make sure that the books are marked, and ensure that your child attends school every day and on time.” She added, “If your child has to study or do homework and the TV is on, the government or the teacher cannot come into your home and turn it off, it is your responsibility to do so.”
She compares education to a relay race, where every leg has to be strong and do their part to succeed.
But Priya Manickchand’s life isn’t all about work and the continued drive for success. She is happily married to a civil engineer and officer of the Guyana Defence Force, Major Bhageshwar Murli. The Minister had two children in three years and laughingly confesses that she still struggles with the duties of motherhood and “wifedom.”
Her two beautiful children are 3-year-old Arya and 10-month-old Lucas. Their names, she said, were chosen specially as Arya means “noble and honourable, high, possessed of a social conscience” and Lucas was a name, manly enough to satisfy his father, and derived after the Gospel of Luke in the Bible… a chapter that demonstrates great respect for women and proffers the view that women are capable of making big contributions to the world. She hopes to raise a son who sees women as equally capable as men.
When she’s not working, Minister Manickchand indulges in reading and spending quality time with family.
“Doing the most basic and simple things are of great enjoyment to me.”
This may come as a surprise to most Guyanese women, but the Minister is not fond of housework and other domestic chores. She thanks her mother-in-law and the Army for raising a relatively independent man in her husband, who makes little demands in that regard.
And what can be seen as yet another surprise to most, the Minister and her family live at her parents’ home with her mother and father and, chuckling, she said she would be quite happy to stay there forever so she could capitalise on the childcare and other help she gets.
When asked who most influenced her as a child growing up, she said she didn’t have a single role model. A combination of people in her life helped to shape her. She admires her father’s refusal to cower to bullyism and his belief in standing up for oneself, and her mother’s unshakeable belief in Christ.
She said her parents’ personal sacrifice as a couple, to give her and her siblings the best education possible, remains an inspiration to her and reminds her of her own duties as a parent. She also gave credit to her aunt Gloria Roopnauth who insisted that she “think independently and not be brainwashable.”
She is grateful for the genes passed down by her paternal grandfather, whom she said started with nothing but the clothes on his back and a great determination to make his offspring successful people and in that pursuit, with a hard working wife, built an estate.
Finally, the Minister was asked what inspired her to get into politics.
“I dont know that I was inspired to get actively involved in politics. All I ever wanted to do after graduating was law. But the election of 1997 was around the corner and for me as a young person looking on, after listening to everyone, there was simply no option but the PPP/C. So I felt compelled to play my small part in helping out Guyana by making sure the best party won. My friend Renuka and I just sort of walked into Freedom House and volunteered and were asked to help prepare kits for the election scrutineers. My “job” was to wrap scotch tape around pencils and I felt like I was doing my bit and was quite happy with that. And then someone learnt that I was a law student and asked me to do some research and one thing lead to the next.
I had also met Feroze Mohamed and Rannie Nawbatt and some other folks who were sound, solid citizens with extremely interesting lives and views on matters, and we stayed friends and in touch even after the ’97 elections. In 2006, I still held the view that the PPP/C was the only party that could deliver to Guyanese on the promise for a better country and in the run-up to the elections, I again took some time off to help out with more mundane things, figuring I would do my bit and then resume my regular life.
After the election, the dynamic President Bharrat Jagdeo invited me to be a part of his cabinet and given all the effort he and others were personally putting into making our country a better, more developed place and giving people from all brackets a better life, I felt selfish to say no and here I am today.”
Minister Manickchand says she still struggles with trying to balance work and home, and will have to learn to strike a better balance so that even as she serves, she can bring up children who themselves would be sound academically and otherwise, and thus capable of serving too.
For all she has done and is continuing to do for Guyana’s children, Education Minister Priya Manickchand is a ‘Special Person’.