THE Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Education and several other partners, yesterday, hosted Inclusive Education Expo with special emphasis being placed on children with special needs.

The event, which kicked off at the Carifesta Sports Complex ground in Georgetown saw participation from more than 50 different companies/agencies.
Speaking at the Opening of the Expo, Education Minister Ms. Priya Manickchand said government has recognized that if a country’s children are to develop their full capacities, all barriers to education must be singled out and eliminated.
She said that irrespective of gender, race and geological location, all children (citizens) of Guyana must be served equally as it relates to not only education but the various developmental services that are being offered by government.
Ms. Manickchand pointed out that, around the world, many countries are faced with various problems in the education and other sectors, but Guyana has already begun to implement strategies in this regard.
She noted that from the beginning, Guyana has always striven to ensure that there is equal access to education for all.
“The world faces many different challenges in these areas, and we don’t have any of those problems here. So we in Guyana have much to celebrate about,” she said.
According to Manickchand, reports from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) stated that approximately 73 million children around the world are excluded every single day from the education system because of either race, gender, geological location, or for other reasons.
She said this problem has been addressed in Guyana. As such, the country faces no such scenario.
She pointed her attention to childhood education, noting that Guyana, among its Caricom and Caribbean neighbours, has been leading the way in this regard.
Manickchand said if any part of the population should be left out, Guyana would not be able to rapidly develop in the capacity it should.
She emphasised that while some sections of society might have a better grasp on their education focus, there are some that will need that extra attention in order to succeed.
“Without inclusive education we cannot develop as rapidly enough as we would want to here in Guyana,” Manickchand added.
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam said that students with disabilities are now brought clearly into focus in relation to the role that all of Guyana can play in improving their lives.
Sam said this move would not have been possible without the support of the different agencies and companies in Guyana that endorses the aim of the Education Ministry, which is to ensure equal access to education for all.
“This day would not have been possible without these organisations that have joined in, with the ministry to champion the development of the education sector in Guyana,” Sam pointed out.
He said these partnerships are invaluable, and have joined with the Government of Guyana to lead the nation’s children forward in the education sector.
Sam reminded that citizens of Guyana have equal responsibility to create an environment wherein all can benefit from education in Guyana.
“Every individual we have here, when they leave here, should be able to reach out to the vulnerable groups in society with the intention of helping children to be better,” he said.
Representative of the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF), Ms. Michelle Rodrigues, said Guyana should be congratulated for ensuring that it has been leading the way in nursery education.
She commended the Ministry of Education for doing such a great job with education in Guyana, especially in the area of record keeping.
“We know that the Ministry of Education has been keeping on record the amount of students that have dropped out of school, and we know about the efforts in finding strategies to encourage students and young teenage mothers back into the school system,” she said.
She said UNICEF is aware of the many interventions made in the education sector throughout the country, seeking to improve the education systems in Guyana.
“UNICEF would like to say we know the responsibility goes beyond what it seems, if we are to reach out to those children with special needs and meet every child around the country,” Rodrigues said.
She said that in this modern day and age, when education is very important to the children and people of a country, no one should be excluded.
“We can no longer let them be excluded, like teen mothers or those who dropped out of school…we have to find a way of pulling them back in,” she said.
Rodrigues challenged every education official and the citizens of Guyana to become advocates for education in Guyana.