– as three more Five Bs school buses commissioned

AS the Government continues to place tremendous emphasis on the importance of education, three more buses were handed over under the President’s Five Bs Programme, this time to the communities of Annai and Aishalton in the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region.

The Boats, Buses, Bicycles plus breakfast and books (Five Bs) programme is in keeping with President David Granger’s mission to provide equal and equitable opportunities to the children of Guyana.
The 15-seater bus, which was handed over at Aishalton, will be used to transport schoolchildren from Awaruwaunau and the surrounding communities in the South Rupununi. In the North Rupununi, one bus will be used by the students of the Bina Hill Institute and the second one will benefit the students attending Annai Secondary School.
In his address to the residents of Annai, President Granger said once every child completes his/her primary, secondary and tertiary education, Guyana’s economic development will occur at a faster pace.

An educated population, he posited, encourages innovation, which in turn, drives development. “What we need is a condition in this region where children understand the importance of education and where parents take a vow to ensure that their children stay in school and go to university and qualify as doctors, lawyers and engineers,” President Granger said.

Over at Aishalton, he said too often children, particularly from rural communities, are forced to drop out of school simply because their parents cannot afford the cost of transportation. There are also instances where children are forced to walk or row in canoes for hours just to get to school. The buses, the President noted, will eradicate the challenges faced by the children of the Rupununi.

“This bus is very important to you, because it will help you to go to school. It will help you to stay in school. It will help you to maintain your attendance. I don’t want to see any dropouts; not here in Rupununi, not in Barima-Waini, not in the Pomeroon, nowhere,” President Granger said.
Regional Executive Officer of Region Nine, Sherwyn Wellington, described the Five Bs programme as a well thought out initiative, which recognises the fact that education is fundamental to the country’s future. “By investing in the children, we are investing in Guyana’s future… This initiative by the President is making Guyana an educated nation,” he said.

He also informed that 50 percent of the region’s budget goes towards the education sector and added that from all indications, the Five Bs programme is significantly improving school attendance, as well as easing the financial burden on families.
Meanwhile, Luana Allicock, a student of the Annai Secondary School, expressed appreciation to the Government for the provision of the buses, which she described as a timely intervention. “Your gift to us could not have come at a better time, since our present Grade 10 class of my school started to raise funds to offset transportation cost for an educational tour to Lethem. Today that class is smiling,” she said.

In order to ensure that more students from the hinterland have an opportunity to pursue tertiary education, Government is looking at a number of measures. Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Mr. Sydney Allicock, said that his ministry is currently in the process of constructing a facility to house hinterland scholarship students and teachers who are attending the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE). The facility will accommodate some 125 students.

Employment
President Granger said that many young people who are school dropouts are often left with no choice but to seek menial, low-paying jobs and this, in many ways, prevents them from getting out of the cycle of poverty. He noted that each region is endowed with wealth-creating resources, but for these to be developed, education is key.
“What we want is a generation of young people, who are educated, who can use computers, who can use machines and help themselves to make a good living… Once you get an education, you would be able to use your science and your skills and your technology to use the very products that are coming out of your region in what is called agro-processing. Anything you produce can be processed and exported,” he said.

Echoing this point, Minister Allicock encouraged residents at Aishalton to start seeing themselves as citizens with a responsibility to use their resources to contribute to the economic development of their region and the country as a whole. He said, “We have space, we have land, we have fertility in the land. This is something to celebrate. The very land here could give us acres upon acres of peanuts, mangoes, peppers, fish ponds, beef, sheep, chickens, tourism. You name it, it’s there, but it all comes down to… education; appropriate education is what the Government is going to help to develop.”

The Toshao of Aishalton Village, Mr. Douglas Casimero, lauded the Government’s efforts at providing training and employment opportunities for the youths of the Rupununi. He disclosed that nine young people have graduated from a skills training programme facilitated by the Board of Industrial Training (BIT).
Minister of Social Protection, Ms. Amna Ally, who coordinates the Five Bs programme, was also present at Friday’s handing-over ceremony. The three buses were provided by the Ministry of Indigenous People’s Affairs, which, along with the Regional Democratic Council of Region Nine, will be responsible for maintenance

At Aishalton the communities were also presented with agricultural tools, public address systems, television sets for educational purposes, while at Annai the community received agricultural items, including baby chicks for rearing.