– says Minister Baksh in Education Month message
EDUCATION Minister Shaik Baksh said September – which is designated Education Month – holds a special significance for the education sector in Guyana.
Baksh made this assertion in an Education Month message, an abridged version of which is printed below:
Once again, it gives me great pleasure to extend warmest greetings to teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders in the education sector.
A special welcome should be extended to those who are attending school for the first time. To those returning from the extensive July-August vacation, I trust that you have returned invigorated, recharged and ready to face the challenges and embrace the numerous opportunities that await you in the classroom. 
September holds a special significance for the education sector, mainly for two major reasons.  One is that September is designated Education Month; a period of reflection on the various developments in education and the opening-up of relevant forums to garner the views and opinions of stakeholders on the way forward for the sector. The other, which I have already alluded to, is the commencement of the new academic year. This year, the month is being observed under the theme: “Transforming Guyana through Science and Technology in Education.”
The role of science and technology in chartering a brighter future for Guyana cannot be overemphasised in the push to transform the social, infrastructural and economic landscapes of the country and to cope with emerging global challenges. In this thrust, the Ministry of Education has a central role to play in equipping our youth with the education and the right mindset to advance the national development agenda. It is within this context that the ministry is working towards the completion of an innovative and comprehensive science policy for the education sector. The policy which will dovetail the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) will set out the way forward for science to have a stronger presence at all levels of the education system to create the enabling environment for Guyana to achieve the desired transformation.
Though science occupies a permanent place on our schools’ curricula, there is need for more secondary school students to sit the sciences at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). Encouragingly, over the past three years, the number of secondary school students sitting the sciences has been increasing. These students have also been performing creditably at the examinations. At the Ministry of Education, considerable attention is being placed on attracting students to pursue studies in these areas, and a national science unit has been established to lead the process. Some of the proposals the ministry is hoping to finalise to attract students include scholarships to attend the University of Guyana (UG) and waiving the examination fees for students sitting the sciences at CSEC. A proposal to give special incentives to teachers trained in the sciences and mathematics is also being examined. Importantly too, non-graduate certificate programmes for teachers of physics, chemistry and biology have been introduced, and those who complete the programme will receive an increase in remuneration. The foundation has been set at the school level; it is now important that more students pursue the sciences so that Guyana in the near future will have the local technical capacity to make its vision for transformation a reality.
Equally important in the realisation of this vision is the merging of science with technology to improve services, particularly in the health and agriculture sectors. As our education system prepares students to be productive members of society, more attention than ever before has to be placed on the integration of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the teaching and learning process. Undoubtedly, this move is critical in the drive to equip learners with the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century. The integration of technology in education provides students with a global approach to learning and communicating and the computer serves as vital resource for students and teachers of inclusive classrooms, allowing for the diverse needs and varying ability levels of the former to be met.
The Ministry of Education has recognised that the success of students is not the sole responsibility of teachers, but a manifestation of collective efforts involving parents and the wider community in promoting and fostering enabling environments. Clearly, the role of our teachers in cultivating an atmosphere that is conducive to learning and in working in tandem with parents in ensuring that the home-school nexus is characterised by love, guidance, security cannot be overemphasised. We have a responsibility as Guyanese to ensure that every child is given an opportunity to maximise his or her innate potential.  To this end, the government has been providing much needed support through the Health and Family Life Education, School Feeding and School Uniform Programmes. The School Feeding and Uniform programmes have resulted in improved attendance and I am optimistic that this will translate into academic success, while the Health and Family Life Education Programme has enable the promotion of tolerance, safe and acceptable behaviours in students, particularly males.
Let me use this opportunity again to call on our males to enter the teaching profession; a highly rewarding career with numerous developmental benefits and opportunities for lifelong learning awaits you.
Throughout the country, thousands of children are experiencing the formal setting of a classroom for the first time.  This is an important step in their personal development as schooling opens up a new world of endless possibilities for them.  I urge all students to take their studies seriously and stay the course to achieve those dreams and aspirations they have set themselves. I wish you success at your examinations and urge that you commit to the principles of lifelong learning and excellence in all of your future endeavours.
Student performance levels at the public schools have been consistently improving and it is my hope that we will collectively build on the successes achieved to-date. I commend those teachers who work tirelessly to improve the outcomes of their students and urge those who are behind to emulate their outstanding colleagues. 
I urge all stakeholders to let us join efforts and work towards building an education system that will positively transform our country and will be of great benefit for generations to come. I wish you a productive 2011—2012 academic year.