Submitted by Looking Glass

According to the PM it is possible to have social development when no economic development is taking place because structural changes are taking place which are intended to make life better for a larger number of people. [Economic Growth Should Benefit The People: Advocate 5/16/2013]. I am unsure exactly what he means by social development. Yes further social development may indeed be possible; but given the cost and the absence of economic development where will the money come from to facilitate it? Are you prepared to borrow the money to facilitate social development? Today the national debt is about $70bn which we cannot pay. If so then you are sending the country further down the drain.

He noted that in colonial times there was economic growth but there was no evidence of social development there or in the region. “There was no evidence of schools, hospitals or safety to protect the elderly, child labour and crude disrespect for women.” As was noted in Alleged Bajan Slavery the Jews built and developed the country until the Blacks took over the government in the early 19^th century. The schools he went to there were built by them and his parents worked in Bridgetown.

In Certified But Uneducated he tells us that attaining certification is not the end all and be all of attending school and is troubled that some souls are leaving secondary and tertiary school uneducated. It occurs where the emphasis is on certification; when or where the distinction between “schooling and education becomes blurred….They do not see the acquisition of knowledge as empowering beyond attaining a better salary.” If so then doctors, lawyers, dentists and other professionals are guilty of blurred understanding. He is concerned that too many taxpayers’ dollars are being spent on such souls. Exactly what does he mean by education?

For him “education has an empowering dimension to it that connects people to the challenges posed by their environment, and that allows them to face those challenges courageously and confidently, not because of what they like or do not like but because of their capacity to understand.” Exactly what does he mean? There is hardly anything in the secondary level related to the environmental challenges. It usually happens at post secondary institutions not elementary and secondary schools. Our schools are not equipped or designed to teach/inform kids about environmental challenges. We are still to develop a skilful knowledge based economy. So far there in nothing in education to connect people to the challenges of the environment, not even at Cave Hill. Have a look at New Education For Development.

His comments raise the question exactly what does he mean by education. If it refers to knowledge and understanding then he apparently is uneducated. He apparently knows/understands little or nothing about the country’s history, economic development, less about the region and is prepared to sell out the country for his own personal benefit. Where ignorance is bliss it is folly to the wise. So expect the country to go further down the drain. Ask him if he ever visited a country in the region.