THE portfolio Ministry, through the Education for AllFast Track Initiative (EFA/FTI), on Wednesday, commissioned teachers living quarters, costing $17M, at Port Kaituma, North West District, in Region One (Barima/Waini). The semi-furnished upper flat of the building, comprising a living room, kitchen, dining room and bathroom, caters for two families or four single teachers.
Work to enclose the ground floor is to be undertaken in the future.
Speaking at the commissioning, on the lawns, Education Minister Shaik Baksh told the gathering, of students, parents, teachers and regional officials, that the development is another fulfillment of the Government’s commitment to improve the living standard of hinterland teachers.
He said the new house, one of four in the Region, is a central component of the plan to encourage trained teachers from the coastland to render their services in the hinterland.
Mr. Baksh said the move is also intended to improve the delivery of quality education in hinterland schools and, ultimately, reversing the unsatisfactory trend of the students’ performance, both at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations (CSEC), particularly in Region One.
He announced, as well, that his ministry, in an effort to better the results of hinterland students, has set out to have at least 70 per cent of teachers in those areas formally trained in the next five years.
Baksh said, this year, six teachers from Region One, who have completed training at Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), will return to serve the Region and 13 more will be sent for the formal training.
He emphasised that every hinterland teacher, who has completed training at the CPCE Turkeyen Campus, will have to return to serve his/her region, barring exceptional circumstances.
Baksh said, too, that upgrading of teachers in remote locations is an ongoing initiative and more than 100 of them have derived benefit through the Guyana Basic Education Teacher Training Programme.
Desired change
He said, while the Ministry has embarked on the initiatives to improve the learning of students, teachers have to demonstrate their commitment by effecting the desired change.
In that context, Baksh made known his dissatisfaction with the attendance rate of teachers in Region One and exhorted the delinquents to live up to their responsibilities.
He said, only that way, the Ministry will be able to realise its goal of ensuring that every child receives a quality education and is equipped with the ideal values to lead a disciplined and productive life.
Baksh said education of the nation’s children is a foremost priority on his Ministry’s agenda and the Government has made several interventions to improve both students’ attendance and performance.
He said those include the provision of free text books and uniforms to each child from September and snacks to all nursery school pupils and those in Grade Two.
Baksh said, currently, 20 schools in Region One are part of the school feeding programme and eight more will be added in September.
He said, already, a preliminary impact study has shown an improvement in students’ attendance and he is expecting that their performance will get better, as well.
Baksh said his ministry is looking to provide free transportation to pupils of primary tops in the hinterland regions and expand the dormitories for secondary school students, in its quest to improve their attendance, punctuality and learning end result.
Region One Chairman, Mr. Fermin Singh charged the resident teachers to care the multi-million dollar building and praised the Government’s actions to not only enhance their well-being but improve students’ performance.
Port Kaituma Primary School Headteacher, Ms. Macey Chung, and the school’s Parent Teachers Association (PTA) representatives also expressed gratitude to the Ministry for providing the new facility.