MINISTER of Education, Mr. Shaik Baksh, said yesterday that the reformed and expanded Teachers Training Programme, expansion of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and Technical and Vocational Education programmes were among the major 2009 achievements in the sector.

Speaking at an end-of-year media briefing, in his Lot 21 Brickdam, Georgetown office, he also highlighted improvements in the National Fast Track Literacy Initiative and secondary school students’ performance.

Baksh, underlining the importance of expanding teacher training, pointed out that quality teachers are needed to ensure quality delivery of education.

He said, in an effort to push ahead with this drive, the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) increased its intake by 58 per cent this year, moving up from 543 the previous year to 931.

Baksh emphasised that CPCE will have to maintain this momentum to achieve the goal of the Education Strategy Plan that aims to increase the number of trained teachers in the system to 70 per cent by 2013.

He said 592 teachers graduated this year and were placed in all the Administrative Regions, representing an 83 per cent increase from the yea before.

Baksh also disclosed that CPCE has received US$3.4 M from the World Bank to facilitate institutional strengthening and reform.

He said, too, that CPCE will have a new principal in 2010 and the Trained Teachers Certificate in Education course will be discontinued and replaced by an Associate Degree in Education.

In addition, CPCE is working closely with University of Guyana (UG) to have the Bachelor in Education Degree course reduced to two years, Baksh said.

He said, notably, his ministry was able to accelerate the delivery of education via the distance mode but at a cost which was manageable and revealed that more money will be allocated for the purpose in 2010.

Baksh reported that information technology (IT) plans moved apace in 2009 and will be a key area of focus in 2010.

According to him, this year, 13 secondary schools were added to a list of 27 which already have IT laboratories and his ministry received an additional G$120M grant to establish more.

At the primary level, Baksh said schools with IT laboratories increased from 15 in 2008 to 45 in 2009 and 336 teachers were trained in the use of information communication technology (ICT).

He said this training will intensify in 2010 and a multi-media centre has been established, awaiting approval for staff recruitment.

Baksh said Guyana, in 2009, out performed some its sister CARICOM countries at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, namely Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica.

Better
He said Guyana did better than them, overall, in terms of percentage passes in five and more subjects.

The percentage passes of students who gained five or more passes, including English and Mathematics at grades one to three at CSEC, rose from 17 per cent last year to 21 per cent this year.

Baksh said it means that more students were able to pursue tertiary education and that the pass rate in English A increased from 28 per cent in 2008 to 50 per cent in 2009.

He challenged teachers to maintain the performance and improve on it, noting that a Guyanese was the most outstanding candidate at the CSEC examinations for the fourth consecutive year and copped the prizes for the outstanding business and science students in the Caribbean, this year, as well.

Baksh said all community high schools were converted to secondary schools in 2009, with a first form remedial programme which places strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy.

He said the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP), which was offered by 10 schools in 2008, was taken to 34 schools in 2009 and the intention is to introduce it to 70 schools by 2013.

Baksh said SCCP was introduced at the grade nine level, rather than grade 10, so that, after three years in the secondary school, students can secure a certificate that will make them employable.

This approach, the minister posited, will stymie the dropout rate in the secondary school system and ensure higher attendance.

He said the Ministry of Education, in 2009, also created a national literacy unit and 176 centres for the Fast Track Literacy Initiative and some 9,030 students and 1,000 adults were beneficiaries.

Baksh praised several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which supported the programme and said a new methodology was consolidated for adoption in primary schools.

He said, next year, emphasis will be on strengthening literacy initiatives in primary schools and acknowledged that, at that level, there is a major concern.

Baksh said the introduction of a National Grade Four Literacy Certificate is being considered and consultations on it have started. If approved, all students will be required to pass this examination to write the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).