EDUCATION Minister Mr. Shaik Baksh has called on the University of Guyana (UG) to modernise the delivery of its academic programmes
by introducing online degree programmes. Baksh, speaking at a recent headteachers’ forum in Region Two, said that open and distance learning will enable teachers to dedicate
full attention to their students, rather than leaving school to attend the university.

He noted that this development will also significantly aid the Ministry of Education to achieve its target of having at least 50 per
cent of trained graduate teachers in the system.

The minister also informed the gathering that if UG cannot deliver this innovation, his ministry will be soliciting assistance from
the University of the West Indies or the Commonwealth of Learning.

The Ministry of Education has taken a number of measures to scale-up the delivery of education, notably with the introduction of an
Associates Degree in Education at the Cyril Potter College of Education.

Under that programme, a trainee teacher spends two years at the college to complete formal training and another two years at UG to
complete the Degree in Education programme.

This is unlike the previous system where it took a teacher, nine years to become a trained graduate. This included three years at the
college, a two-year wait after graduation from College, then four years at UG to obtain a Degree in Education.

Meanwhile, some of the classes for teachers at UG have been rescheduled to commence at 15:00 hrs and the ministry is working with the
university to extend this concession to all programmes it approves.

The minister also used the opportunity to call for a closer partnership between his ministry and school managers to improve education
delivery and students’ performance in 2011.

This approach, he noted, is critical to ensuring greater accountability from headteachers and that stakeholders get value for their
money.

He emphasised that the ministry has the measures and policies in place, notably the Education Strategic Plan, to transform the
education system; and it is time that headteachers and their senior staff put their shoulders to the wheel to effect the desired
change.

Literacy and numeracy, he pointed out, remain at the heart of the plan and the goal is to ensure that students who leave the primary
level are able to read, write, comprehend, and master basic numeracy concepts.

Baksh noted too that more attention is being given to make schools more child-friendly as against being teacher-centered, and this
was recognized by a UNESCO survey which reported that Guyana has made significant strides in this regard.

Baksh stressed that with the implementation of the National Grade Four Literacy Certificate this year, more pressure will be placed
on teachers, as well as parents, to produce better performance from their charges.

Parents, he said, have a vital role to play, not only by providing material support to their children, but also by making sure that
they attend school regularly and punctually, and that their performance and behaviour at school are closely monitored.