– Dr. Luncheon
HEAD of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon has said  the recent outstanding results by Guyanese students who wrote the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) bear testimony to investments made in the education sector.
He was speaking yesterday at his weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the President.
Released last week Friday, the results showed that students writing the school-leaving assessment performed outstandingly, with the highest placing student gaining 15 grade ones and one grade two.
“These results have been judged to be better than those in previous years and note has been taken of the particular areas, the areas of strategic concern where such improvements have been demonstrated,” Dr. Luncheon said.
Dr. Luncheon said that in the area of matriculation, it is not now mere passes and how many, it’s the quality. It’s the number of students that matriculate, meaning that they have passed five or more subjects including English and Maths at no lower than Grade 3.
The HPS also pointed out that equity in results across geographic regions is also another indicator of the success which was manifested in this year’s results. He said that there was a heightened incidence of performances that are evening out across the geographic profiles of Guyana.
He said there is greater evidence that regions other than some which historically had seen good performances are producing good results.
He said among sister Caricom countries, Guyana is continuing to hold the fort to maintain the high profile in those areas of performance that often have been used to judge how well a State’s education sector is performing.
The HPS said Minister of Education Shaik Baksh has been unrelenting in formulating and implementing strategies to improve those outcomes. He said the Minister has encouraged Cabinet to look into the future expectantly as those initiatives are implemented.
He said Baksh has highlighted curriculum development and the delivery of the curriculum and strategic areas to target. The Minister has made teacher performances and school management critical areas in the assessment and monitoring of outcomes in the education system.
The HPS said there is the sustained commitment of budgetary support by Central Government and that the Minister has pledged support for the continued all-round improvement of the education sector.