– NCERD Director Goolsarran
DIRECTOR of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Mr. Mohandatt Goolsarran has said inclusive education, one of the legacies of late Minister Desrey Fox, will attract more focus in the future. That concept is now an integral part of the Education Sector five-year strategic plan, he said in an interview Monday.
He said a larger cross section of children is being afforded access to schools, like President’s College, which was thought to be only for the elite.
“We have Amerindian children at President’s College, among others, once they have the requisite marks,” Goolsarran said.
He maintained that inclusive education is receiving increasing attention as the education sector moves towards further enhancement.
“With inclusive education, no one is excluded,” he reiterated.
Goolsarran said, with regards to special needs children, teachers have been targeted in two non-graduate courses, the first for those in the general stream to assist them to recognise those needs and the second, for others in the six Special Education Needs Schools, to improve their response.
“For the teachers in the special needs schools they are able to take a more robust approach to the schools. They have deaf and dumb children who use sign language and Braille, all of whom have improved,” he reported.
In the area of religious education, Goolsarran noted that Guyana’s education system is secular, so no religion is imposed on schoolchildren and all faiths are respected.
He conceded that, while the reality is that all schools must be in a position to deliver religious education, not all are.
A major challenge is the human resources as the school system has teachers who would not expand on the finer points of a particular religions because their own faith is different and it goes against their belief, said Goolsarran.
“We have to respect the beliefs of the teachers, too, but we are addressing this challenge,” he said.
Goolsarran said religious bodies are being made partners so that they can assist schools with presenters to address the different aspects of related education.
He observed that schools must sit neatly in communities because, without a partnership, there can be no success in the education sector.
Goolsarran said, this year, there is also more appreciation for the different dialects, including Creolese.
Fox, at 54, passed away after succumbing to injuries she suffered in a Georgetown motor vehicles accident.
The Minister in the Ministry of Education died in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of Georgetown Public Hospital while receiving treatment after being injured in the three-way smash-up in the vicinity of Camp Ayanganna, on Thomas Lands, at the junction of J.B. Singh Road and Thomas Road.
She had direct responsibility for the development of technical and vocational education, health and family life education, school welfare services, school sports and physical education and the promotion of culture through music, dance and drama in schools.