Gov’t erasing the history of Central High School

Dear Editor,

The Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education, is erasing the history, legacy and great achievements of the Central High School. To me, this is unpardonable.

Though CHS has registered outstanding academic success for many years, the government has failed to find an alternative building with adequate resources for the school. Instead, dozens of other schools have benefitted from investments and improvements. In 2019, CHS recorded 95.7% passes at the CSEC exams, which places the school on par with the more senior high schools. Apart from its impressive academic record, CHS has also made a name for itself in the realm of extracurricular activities. Its students have excelled in sports, drama, dance, singing, quiz, impromptu speaking, debating, and other competitions.

It is important to note that former President LFS Burnham was a student at the CHS before transferring to Queen’s College. Apart from Burnham, Central also produced multiple lawyers, judges, doctors, entrepreneurs, engineers, and other persons from noble professions, who have contributed meaningfully to the development of Guyana. All the students, teachers and parents of CHS were asking for was a building with modern facilities which would improve the academic and social lives of students. However, this was never a priority for the Ministry of Education.

Disappointingly, the ministry chose to merge the Grade A school with a lower graded school. It saddens me that the alumni, old students’ association and PTA were not well mobilised and strong enough to fight this injustice. We must continue to call this what it is - wrong!

Furthermore, I take this time to make a clarion call to H.E President David Granger, who is a champion for “an education nation,” to intervene in this matter and save the original Central High School and its legacy.

Yours faithfully, K. Smith Former student