THE Ministry of Education has expressed serious concern that despite the government putting millions of dollars into the education sector each year for the provision of text books and other services, there has not been a corresponding increase in the quality of output from students across the administrative regions.
This was highlighted at the end of a two-day workshop last Friday at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) Kingston, Georgetown, attended by various Education Heads of Department.
As a result, the Ministry will zero in on each school to make sure that all Regional Executive Officers (REOs) and Regional Education Officers (REdOs) are doing their job and those not performing, “will have to go,” Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Kellawan Lall said.
To improve the delivery of quality education, he said his Ministry, along with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Service, is working closely to remedy some of the issues existing presently.
Minister Lall said whatever happens in the Education Ministry should be as a result of a collaborative effort, but it has been observed that people tend to compartmentalise their responsibilities and stick to them rigidly, as if they are not a part of the entire system.
He pointed to the issue of coordination which he said should be dealt with in a better fashion, especially when it comes to placing, moving, promoting, dismissing and educating teachers. He added that many teachers are unsure of whom to submit their reports to, because of a lack of proper coordination.  Furthermore, he said some teachers do not take possession of the assets belonging to the Ministry.
Therefore, as a proposed solution, he said the Ministry will have to resort to community-based education which will see many of its technically qualified officers moving to different regions in an effort to share their knowledge.
According to Minister Lall, many of the REOs and REdOs in Georgetown do not have a full appreciation of the challenges on the ground. “If we are to make some strides, we must see to it that people placed in strategic positions go down to the actual ground and pass on their knowledge”.
Minister of Education Shaik Baksh observed that there is a gap in the overall communication between the Regional Administration and the Education Department.
He stressed that there is a direct link between the REdOs and the REOs and noted that though the latter are busy, they must have linkages and enough information at their disposal to be able to fully understand what is taking place, adding that the Education Ministry has recognised that the REOs are overwhelmed with work and as such  has sought approval for Administrative Officers to be placed in each region.
He said as soon as permission is granted by the Public Service Ministry, the Education Ministry will quickly recruit people to fill these positions. With these appointments, there will no excuses and it is expected that information will flow from the regions, he said.
Baksh said in terms of the delivery of education, there seems to be a disconnection between the schools and the Education Department. He observed that many programmes which were established, such as Information Technology, the Six- Year Grade Assessments and the Literacy programmes, are not functioning properly at present.
He noted that workshops are hardly attended, with sometimes one junior staff turning up, while pointing out that the Ministry has no excuse for not performing well in terms of human resources. It has filled all the vacancies and it even has guiding and counseling officers now, he said.
Baksh also complained that the IT laboratories across the country are a top priority of the government but often the computers are not being used.
However, it is the intention of his Ministry to introduce the Performance Enhancement Programme. He said the lowest performing primary and secondary schools have been identified and a coordinator will be appointed to visit and work with each of these.
The Regional Education Department will have to enter a performance contract to commit to the performance of the school and the programme will see that Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs) functions properly, Baksh disclosed.
He also mentioned that weaknesses were observed in the accountability framework but these will be strengthened adding that the programmes will have to be accounted for properly with the REOs and REdOs being in the field.