EDUCATION Minister Shaik Baksh has announced that several initiatives are being examined to promote the sciences and Mathematics in schools.
He said they include offering of special incentives to trained teachers in those subject areas and scholarships for them to further their studies at University of Guyana (UG).
Mr. Baksh made the announcement Monday at a ceremony in the St. Stanislaus College Farm, Sophia, to officially inaugurate the National Secondary Schools’ Hydroponics Competition.
He also disclosed that the Ministry is looking at waiving the fees for students sitting tests in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Agriculture Science and Mathematics at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
Baksh said those proposals were in addition to the soon to be introduced non-graduate certificate course in the sciences, which provides for a salary increase for teachers who successfully complete the programme, with the aim of giving due recognition to science and technology at the secondary level.
He emphasised the importance of science and technology in advancing national growth and development as well as agriculture.
Baksh informed the gathering, including Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Country Representative, Mr. Ignatius Jean; National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) Director, Dr. Oudho Homenauth; Deputy Chief Education Officer, Technical, Mr. Shurish Baijnauth, teachers, that candidates performance in Agriculture Science at the CSEC, over the years, has been encouraging.
He said there has been a steady increase in the number sitting examinations in that subject during the past three years, with 1,069 doing so in 2009 and 1,110 this year.
Baksh said, notably, grades one to three passes in Agriculture Science, at the 2009 examinations, were around 90 per cent and he lauded the progress made while challenging his officers to double the 2010 figure in the next two to three years.
He said the Ministry of Education fully recognises the value of agriculture and pointed out that Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP), which is being piloted in 24 secondary schools and six practical instructional centres, has a component which focuses on agriculture.

Strategic plan

According to him, the Ministry, in its five-year strategic plan, intends to extend this programme to 70 secondary schools by 2013.
Agriculture Science aside, Baksh said a National Science Coordinator was appointed to promote the sciences in schools and school laboratories throughout the country are continuing to be upgraded and resourced.
He also commended the teachers and students of the 41 schools that are participating in the contest and said efforts will be made to further expand the rivalry to include primary schools.
Baksh praised the partnership between his ministry and the portfolio ministry, which is geared to afford due recognition to agriculture in schools.
Homenauth reminded that agriculture is the backbone of the national economy and appealed to schools to encourage more students involvement in the pursuit, acknowledging that their support is vital to its survival, development and expansion.
Hydroponics is a climate resilient technique that involves cultivation of cash crops without the use of soil and the competition is primarily aimed at promoting gardening in school and, by extension, getting students to start kitchen gardens at home.
It is part of a broader national objective to cut costs and ensure food security.
The programme started in 2006, following the 2005 floods, with 16 schools but has since spawned 41, involving close to 700 students.
The undertaking is a joint venture between the Ministries of Education, Agriculture and IICA.
The first placed school will receive the Minister of Education prize and the teacher of that school will get a special incentive yet to be determined.
The second and third prizes will be awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture and IICA, respectively.