The recent graduation of thirty persons from the first Information Training Course at the Buxton/Friendship Practical Instruction Centre shows that our young people no longer want to be left behind, but instead move abreast with a changing society, and arm themselves with the necessary prerequisites that may be demanded of them to face the future challenges.
The training course was by itself an interesting experience for the students who have received training in life skills, such as: Introduction to computers, Use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Publisher, Power Point and Access, computer repairs and maintenance.
We are in the technological era in which the computer has become an integral part of life for Guyanese, and training in information technology has become an absolute necessity. The government and the Ministry of Education are well aware of the consequences of not keeping abreast with technology and made quite a few interventions to sensitise the entire population to make the adjustments demanded of the advance in technology.
We point to the One Lap Top per Family project in which some 90,000 laptops are to be given to Guyanese for free. The distribution of the Laptops has started in several areas throughout the country. We also refer to the ongoing construction of computer laboratories in schools throughout the country where computers would be provided for use by the student population in the area of information technology.
This is no doubt a positive development in the schools’ system and all school children who are legible to undergo such training should grasp the opportunity without any hesitation. The times ahead are indeed challenging, and especially our youth population would be required to undergo training to face up to the sometimes cruel demands of a changing world.
It was by no means accidental that the Buxton/Friendship Practical Instruction Centre embarked on its first Information training course. Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh in his remarks at the graduation ceremony, said that it was while he was monitoring the progress of works at the institution that the idea of sponsoring an IT course emerged.
“We acknowledge that the training of the thirty persons was financed through the Basic Needs Trust Fund Programme, which equipped the lab with 15 computers, desks, chairs and air conditioning units. It also helped in upgrading the electrical system”.
The organizers of the course must be lauded for their efforts to enable our youth to better understand the challenges of the times and prepare them to face these encounters with animated confidence. The people in other areas of Guyana should use the Buxton experience as a stepping stone towards setting up similar institutions to assist their people at the village level. This will be a sure way to keep our youth occupied and at the same time equip them for the employment market.
Skills’ training is very important, and we must make sure that especially our youth population is exposed to this kind of training which would serve to improve their ability to see life in a different perspective other than through the eyes of wicked intentions.
We are certain that the graduating students would be good ambassadors to their villages and would pass on their knowledge and experiences to others.