Education Minister Shaik Baksh has extended the deadline to the end of July for public and private education providers to complete the registration process with the National Accreditation Council (NAC).
Baksh said failure to do so will see the action taken to enforce the provisions made by law under the National Accreditation Council Act 2004.
He made these remarks yesterday at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) during a two-day orientation workshop where education sector stakeholders were sensitized to the moves NAC will be making in the coming months.
The workshop is expected to see stakeholders finalizing ways to process, develop and implement standards and procedures for the accreditation of programmes offered by various education providers in Guyana. Already the NAC undertakes registration of these providers, but hopes to advance its operations through the workshop.
Baksh said, “Private providers must be given a chance to improve, but we cannot wait forever.”
He added that under the Education Act, as Minister, he has the power to “close down” operations if they fail to meet the requisite standards.
Baksh stated that as education providers, the focus must be creating access to quality education which will contribute, not only to Guyana, but to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) as a whole.
The Minister observed that at all levels of education, quality must be at the forefront, and pointed out that in the Ministry’s Strategic Plan, quality is the hallmark of efforts made at all levels.
He explained that benchmarks have been established and works done have specific standards as a guide.
“All these efforts are to ensure that Guyana is recognised in CARICOM,” he said.

Regional Recognition

One particular accreditation that Baksh noted Guyana has not been approved for is the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ).
According to this, when accredited, Guyanese will be able to facilitate the movement of artisans and other skilled persons in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
This qualification is expected to be accessible to persons already in the workforce as well as students in secondary schools across the Caribbean region. Those already in the work force will be required to attend designated centres for assessment.
Baksh stressed the importance of quality assurance and noted that the current administration is not satisfied with the level of quality assurance.
“This is why, for the past two years, we have been insisting that quality assurance measures are in place,” he said.
He added that his Ministry will be guided by the NAC in ensuring the providers of education in Guyana have met certain standards.
Baksh pointed to the University of Guyana, whose enrollment now stands at approximately 5000, and said with the increase in student intake, pressure is put on the institution and quality has to be improved.
However, even as he acknowledged this, the Minister made it clear that efforts are being made to address quality at the University.
He added that the situation at the Cyril Potter College of Education is similar.
On a more positive note, Minister Baksh said that the University’s medical programme has been recently accredited.
He indicated that it was after much perseverance that this accreditation was gained, and he urged similar perseverance from local education providers.
“The work of the NAC has now become more onerous,” he said.
He commended the NAC for “getting things moving” and gave his commitment to sourcing additional human resources to bolster its work. He said he was satisfied with the progress made so far.
In an invited comment, Chairman of the NAC, Mr. Khemraj Rai, said the Council is making progress since its establishment in 2004.
The Chairman explained that the NAC has addressed registration and development of policies with regard to accreditation.
“We continue to work in these areas…the NAC is not fully staffed and that is holding back some of the work; but Minister has promised us resources and we hope to continue full force,” he said.
Rai added that the life of the current board comes to an end on June 30, but affirmed that the work of the NAC will continue with the appointment of a new one.
Relative to the importance of the workshop, the Chairman contended that including the stakeholders was quintessential to developing policies and standards for quality control.

Accreditation

“By the end of the year we hope to start accrediting programmes and institutions that apply,” he said.
He added that while both public and private sectors are encouraged to be registered with the NAC, to date, the response has been good.
Yesterday’s workshop was facilitated Dr. Ethley London, the Executive Director of the University Council of Jamaica.
She addressed worldwide trends in quality assurance and accreditation, preparing institutions for self-evaluation, the criteria and process of accreditation, development of standards for accreditation, preparing assessors/ reviewers to undertake the accreditation process, and empowering the NAC to undertake accreditation activities.
London made it clear that relative to the accreditation purposes, quality is a multi-dimensional issue.