THE Ministry of Education (MoE) has continued in 2014 to map out a new five-year Education Strategic Plan (ESP), as the old plan expired in 2013, according to Education Minister Priya Manickchand during her annual assessment of the education sector, delivered at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD).

The new ESP will focus on achieving the learning levels of education for all sub-groups, she disclosed.

Stakeholders had been widely consulted as the MoE designed the 2013/2018 plan, she explained; and presently, the level of enrollment cannot be assessed until the release of the new census results by age and communities.

Until this is achieved, the MoE will not be able to reveal whether Guyana have received a respectable education level, the minister explained.

Manickchand expressed her concern that certain sectors have not been performing on par with expectation. She explained that the learning outcomes for the primary sector are literacy and numeracy, followed by science and technology; but these will need additional attention.

There are also challenges in two sub groups — those at-risk and vulnerable children and special needs children. The first priority in dealing with these sub groups is to bring the children into school and make them stay there. She noted that once in school, the need will be to maximise the students’ learning achievements.

Improving performance of Government departments responsible for assessing ESP priorities; establishing an accountability system which creates improved students’ learning abilities; improving the quality of school facilities, the quality of teaching and the quality of the curriculum; improving the availability of teaching and learning materials; and aligning the curricula of training programmes with the revised curricula are some of the outcomes targeted in the new ESP.

The MoE conducted a literacy test on the amount of students that can read at their grade level. This test was conducted from Grade One to Grade Six, and Minister Manickchand explained that while this does not say that the students cannot read, it simply opens the eyes of MoE personnel to the fact that more needs to be done, since “only 32% of our students are reading at grade level”.

The Education Minister observed that any five-year plan in any sector and country is particularly vulnerable to events beyond that sector’s control. This includes political instability and changes in Government, even within the same ruling party.

The continuous support for the sector by the current administration is a major priority, she said. The cost of the plan is expected to be revealed by mid-January 2015.