THE Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Guyanese Assisting in Development (GUYAID) on Thursday held their 19th annual award ceremony for their essay writing competition at the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD).

Deputy Chief Education Officer (Secondary), Ms. Doodmattie Singh said that the competition targets both primary and secondary schools in all education districts across Guyana, and comprises of three categories- under 12, over 12 and over 14. She also said that the number of entries for this year was much larger than the other years. This year, there were a total of 269 entries, an increase of a 100 from last year.
Ms. Singh related that the competition provides a platform for the students to enhance their literacy and research skills. She said that on March 13 a memo was dispatched to all education districts requesting topics from schools, and while not all the education districts responded, they were overwhelmed by the number of topics received. According to her, after the polishing and refinement of some of the topics, a group identified the topics for the various categories.
For the under 12 category, the topic was “The teacher I would like to be.” She said that this topic was chosen because they wanted teachers to understand what it is that students are looking for in a teacher. The topic for the over 12 category which was “The harmful effects of plastic bags and bottles” was chosen to raise awareness of this topical issue. For the over 14 category the topic which was “My country a tourist dream” was chosen so that the students would learn what is out there apart from the community in which they reside.
According to Ms. Singh, the students were given the topics long in advance, so that they could do whatever research deemed necessary. She related that the essay writing was an in class activity which was written on a particular day, in order to ensure fairness. Ms. Singh added that students from region 7 (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni) wrote the essay on June 13, while the students from the other educational districts wrote it on June 20.
“The development of literacy and research skills is vital to a nation’s success and development”, she said, adding that the efforts of organisations such as GUYAID are lobbied and supported by the ministry of education.
Chairperson for the Guyana chapter of GUYAID, Mrs. Bernice Mansell, expressed her thanks and appreciation to all the officers and staff of the Ministry of Education, students, teachers and parents who played a part in the educational endeavor. She said that GUYAID salutes and congratulates all the students who participated in the competition, noting that they worked hard and succeeded, and they celebrate their success. Mrs. Mansell encouraged the students to continue to persevere and believe in themselves, knowing that they can achieve anything they put their minds to.
One of the judges of the competition, Head of the English Department at the Tutorial High School, Ms. Shandrina Lee presented the judges report. She said that for the under 12 category, the students’ essays expressed their desire for a child-friendly classroom, quality teaching practices and innovative methodology. Ms. Lee related that it was discovered that at one school, two essays had the exact information. She said that this means that the teacher allowed both students to copy the same information.
Ms. Lee said that in the over 12 category some of the students copied the information wholesale from the internet and presented it as their own. She noted that in the over 14 category students downloaded information about Guyana, and as a consequence the essays lacked originality and creativity. According to her, while the use of technology is commendable, students should be taught to use it wisely.
The national first place winner of the Under 12 category was Bibi Famela Ganie of the Saraswat Primary school in Region 3 (Essequibo Islands/ West Demerara), the winner for the over 12 category was Vijay Shivkaran of Diamond Secondary school in region 4 (Demerara/Mahaica), and the winner for the over 14 category was Oma Devi Nanku of Bygeval Secondary in region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice). These students were presented with certificates and will receive monetary awards.  The regional winners were also presented with certificates and their school presented with plaques.