– underscores importance of the Mission’s children gaining an education
Improving the quality of education was chief among the discussions between President Bharrat Jagdeo and residents of St. Cuthbert’s Mission, Region Four, during his second visit to the Amerindian community yesterday. Accompanied by Ministers of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, Education Shaik Baksh, Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran and Head of the Climate Change Unit Shyam Nokta, the President received a warm welcome from the residents before engaging in fruitful discussions on ways of improving the quality of life in the community.
The Head of State was greeted with the good news that the promise to have a secondary school in the village was fulfilled. Toshao Ernest Dundas was the first to commend President Jagdeo for the initiative which followed a promise made during his first visit in 2004.
The school, built at a cost of $51M, opened its doors in 2007 and during today’s visit the President used the occasion to tour the facility and inspect the classrooms and other amenities accompanied by the students and the headteacher (ag) Melanie George.
The community now boasts a nursery, primary and secondary schools, and the Head of State used the occasion to interact with teachers about their progress and challenges.
Among the teaching staff complement are qualified volunteers from Project Trust and trainees from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).
The Ministry of Education began recruiting persons for its own volunteer teacher training programme and has received interest from 60 persons. Some of these recruits will be deployed to the village.
At the secondary school, the Ministry has plans to start an Information Technology (IT) laboratory, and agriculture science and home economics departments.
The President commended the hard work and dedicated efforts of the residents in improving education in the village and recalled the initial proposal to have a secondary school and a dormitory that could accommodate students from the village and other Amerindian communities.
“The reasoning behind establishing a school here was that we needed a lot of the kids to come to a village that is culturally supportive. Many times when the isolated communities send their children to Georgetown or the coast, the children who go there don’t get the supportive environment they need to develop culturally and otherwise,” President Jagdeo said.
The school’s head teacher highlighted the problem of teacher shortage which President Jagdeo said can be solved if qualified persons from the village are hired to teach. He also promised to support renovations needed in the primary school.
It was reported that some parents in the village are guilty of failing to send their children to school and they were given a stern warning of the consequences of such action.
President Jagdeo appealed to the residents to ensure that children are sent to school.
“If you give your children education alone, you don’t have to worry about anything else in their lives. They are going to make for themselves a good life; but please give them that chance,” President Jagdeo said.
Plans are still in the pipeline to construct a dormitory in the village so that more Amerindian children can be given access to education; and though there may be challenges, the President said education in Amerindian communities has improved to a great extent compared to the past where hardly any secondary education was available.
Today there are about eight secondary schools in Amerindian communities, with dormitories, while opportunities are also being provided for hinterland students to pursue scholarships overseas in the area of engineering, agriculture and medicine.
They account for about 60 of the total number of Guyanese youths studying abroad. (GINA)