Dear Editor,
ExxonMobil’s US$100 STEM initiative is garnering a lot of attention and rightfully so. It will be the first time such a large investment has been made in STEM education locally. This initiative will be promising for teachers and students who stand to benefit directly. Unfortunately, as good as this all is, it’s still not good enough for some. I recently came across a letter written by a well-known figure in the media who called this initiative a distraction. He even noted that the US 100 million investment was just a little ‘razzle-dazzle’. Editor, if I am being quite honest, I understood that this man was serious about what he was saying, but I could not help but laugh.
Here we have a man who has never publicly invested US 100 million in anything, calling this investment a razzle-dazzle. Here is a man of intellect calling a substantial investment to support training and capacity building of Guyanese a distraction. How can making steps towards building a more skilled workforce be considered a distraction? What then should we call a letter penned to spin something positive into something negative? I call it a distraction.
The truth of the matter is, Guyana is stepping into uncharted territory, thanks to oil, and STEM education is needed now more than ever. It is what the country needs, which is why this investment is so important. If you read articles and listen to the news, you would notice that the president of Exxon preaches that Guyana’s best and most important resource is its human resource. The US$100 investment is Exxon doing just that: investing in the country’s human resources.
This is why I think, as Guyanese, we need to move away from the habit of criticizing because we can. We have a choice. We can choose to sit and find a million things wrong with this initiative, or we can ask questions, find out ways Guyanese will benefit from the initiative, and get on board.
Sincerely,
Donald Singh
