The fact that Richie Haynes never achieved the highest office in the land . . . really was not his loss; it was ours. – Dr Oscar Jordan
In this week’s column I wish to do two things. Firstly, I want to pay tribute to the late Sir Richard Haynes whose mortal remains were interred last week at St George’s Parish Church. Secondly, I wish to respond to an open letter written by my sweet singing friend and colleague Johnny Koeiman with respect to the Barbados Secondary Schools Entrance Examination (BSSEE).
While his chosen profession was medicine, in which he excelled, the adoption of politics as an area to which he passionately committed his life drew both admiration and harsh criticism. I recalled when the man who was said to have been fit for the bedside of royalty, entered the field of politics in Barbados. I could see him now dressed in his white suit and driving one of the few white Mercedes Benz in Barbados at that time. This six-foot-plus giant of a man threatened, by his very presence within the political hustings, to upset the apple cart. Though rejected initially, the late Sir Richard made an impact on the political landscape that cannot be easily erased.
In his politics, Richie Haynes was forced to spawn the grassroots with which his father was very familiar in that he drove a Bedford truck and employed many such persons. On the other hand, having been a Barbados Scholar who excelled in medicine, his land-owning parents guaranteed him and his siblings a life that was far removed from said grassroots on whom he depended for support at the polls. Running in St George against another six-footer, Jack Odle, was a baptism and induction into the political arena that Richie probably never forgot.
Disparaging comments were made about his father as an employer in the agricultural sector. Richie himself was described as power-hungry and many within the party feared he was being groomed by Errol Barrow to be his successor.
When Richie Haynes founded the National Democratic Party and made one of the sneakiest political moves ever in Barbados’ politics by ousting the Barbados Labour Party as the official Opposition in Parliament, his love-hate image as a politician loomed even larger. It is strongly felt that the Democratic Labour Party never got over that split which was orchestrated by the late Sir Richard Christopher Haynes.
Remarks made by his son Kashka that his father “devoted his time to improving the lives of the poor,
the marginalized and the disenfranchised” call for careful political analysis. While we confirm his penchant for political debate and the intrigue of politics, Richie had problems assuming a genuine posture as a grassroots politician. I am sure Sir Richie himself would agree that while it was said of his leader that “he could walk with kings and not lose the common touch”, such sentiments did not fit him as snugly.
Whatever you might say about Sir Richard, this illustrious son, the “man in the white suit”, got the admiration of Barbadians of all walks of life and leaves behind a twin legacy: his brilliance as a medical practitioner and a sharp political vision that unfortunately came dangerously close to being fully realized.
When I opened the DAILY NATION of June 27 and saw my name behind Peter Wickham’s, I wondered why my friend Johnny Koeiman placed me in that position. After some reflection I realized that the focus of the open letter was the only subject on which Mr Wickham and I hold common ground. In other words, we both believe that the BSSEE or 11-Plus should be abolished.
To my friend and colleague Johnny Koeiman, it is time that you join the enlightened cast of BSSEE critics. The arguments you advanced do not make the case for the test. They do give some analysis on issues affecting classroom practice, but they fall flat in terms of demonstrating an understanding of the divisive social construct that the test represents.
Those of you who see social selection and accentuating the differences between and among students as the key purpose of education can continue to hold such a warped view to your own peril.
Dr Didicus Jules of CXC must be lauded for offering a level critical analysis that has seen many other Caribbean countries taking a more progressive, enlightened and less conservative view of the transfer from primary to secondary education.
While I endorsed the celebratory sentiments showered on the late Sir Richard Haynes, I hope one day to join you, Johnny, in singing a swan song for the Common Entrance Examination.
• Matthew Farley is a secondary school principal, chairman of the National Forum on Education, and a social commentator.