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Written by Clifford Stanley
THE Ministry of Education is expending some $24M in procurement of equipment needed to upgrade Rosignol and Bygeval Secondary Schools in Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice) to the ‘A list’ status.
| “In ‘A List’ schools every child has a textbook. The science and the computer laboratories are fully equipped. The school is given all the tools it requires to help the students to be the best they can be” – Minister of Education |
Disclosing this last Friday, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand explained that the two schools were being upgraded to this highest category of secondary schools to facilitate top performers at the National Grade Six Assessment Examinations who would otherwise have had to travel to schools in Regions 4 (Mahaica/Berbice) and Region 6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) for their secondary education..
She disclosed that the ministry has met with staff of both of the schools to be upgraded and had sought and accommodated their input on the facilities they felt were necessary, resulting in $24M in expenditure to date. She had explained that generally the ‘A List’ schools were different from ‘Grade A’ schools .
The ‘A Grade’ school means that there are many students on roll but a ‘Grade B’ would have fewer students than a ‘Grade A’ and a ‘Grade C’ still fewer on roll than ‘Grade B’, etc.
Manickchand said: “The ‘A List’ school is categorized not by quantity but by quality; the quality of the teachers, the quality of the facilities we have in the school, the kind of teaching which has the ability to produce good students.”
“In ‘A List’ schools every child has a textbook. The science and the computer laboratories are fully equipped. The school is given all the tools it requires to help the students to be the best they can be.”
In this regard, she disclosed that Region 5 had a bit of a problem – “every good student they produced at primary school level had to go to secondary schools in either Region 6 or Region 4. So the Region could never really shine, they could not get the many Grade Ones and awards for various subjects because they were sending their best to Regions 4 and 6. So we decided to change that.”
The procurement, she added, is nearing completion and both schools are to be commissioned as ‘A List’ schools shortly.
