National Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) Coordinator, Carol Benn, has disclosed that the Voluntary Mentoring Programme will be extended to four more schools in January 2011. The programme, which was rolled out earlier this year at South Ruimveldt, Lodge, Tutorial High, Cummings Lodge, Wisburg and the Linden Foundation secondary schools, will be introduced to North Ruimveldt Multilateral, North Georgetown, Christ Church and New Campbellville secondary schools.
According to Benn, the move to extend the programme was prompted by the successful implementation of the initiative at five of the six schools where it was launched and the many appeals from parents at PTA interactive sessions.
The Coordinator said that there have been some hiccups with the programme at the Linden Foundation Secondary, but efforts are being made to overcome the challenges and to strengthen the programme there so that it attains the same level of vibrancy as at the other schools.
She noted that training of mentors for the new schools is expected to commence this month-end and reported that the presence of 66 mentors at South Ruimveldt, Lodge, Tutorial High, Cummings Lodge and Wisburg secondary schools has contributed to the decrease in unacceptable behaviours from students.
The Ministry of Education, in keeping with its thrust to build and promote  healthy self-esteem and image among secondary school students, re-launched the National Voluntary Mentoring Programme in March this year.
The programme being advanced by Education Minister Shaik Baksh aims at inculcating acceptable behaviours in students, promoting tolerance, and addressing some of the challenges facing the education system, including violence and students’ low academic performance.
The intervention also aims at strengthening relations among the school, home and community.
Under the programme, a student (mentee) is paired with a former student or other person considered a suitable (mentor).
The mentor, the mentee and his/her parent/guardian will meet to introduce themselves. The mentor may expose the mentee to activities such as concerts, exhibitions or family outings and interact on a range of issues, particularly those of the mentee’s interest.
Mentors are encouraged to form themselves into groups with parents to volunteer their services to establish school clubs to keep students more meaningfully occupied.
The Ministry of Education in September had also teamed up with ChildLink, formerly EveryChild Guyana, to introduce the Youth Vision Programme, an initiative geared at empowering some 2000 vulnerable youths with the requisite knowledge and skills to realize their full potential.
That one year project, which significantly supports the work of the Schools’ Welfare Department to create more violence-free schools and promote environments that are conducive to learning, is being piloted at the St. Winifride’s, St. Mary’s, Dolphin, Tutorial and the Huston Secondary schools.
Some 50 teachers, along with 25 youth advocates and 100 student mentors, have been tasked to deliver the programme which is also supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Minister Baksh has lauded the partnership his ministry enjoys with ChildLink, other local and international partners, and more recently UNICEF to improve the outcomes of the education sector, a mission the Ministry cannot accomplish alone.
He also announced that more Guidance and Counselling officers will be placed in the school system to motivate students, build their self-esteem and confidence to perform better in the classroom and enjoy a more harmonious relationship with their teachers and peers.
Since the placement of Guidance and Counselling officers at certain schools earlier this year, there has been a significant decline in violence and other forms of unacceptable behaviours in the school system.
The objective now, Baksh noted, is to maintain and improve the level of discipline established.