Written by Chriseana Ramrekha
DELIVERING the feature address Monday at a brief ceremony to commission the new wing of the Fort Wellington Secondary School in Region 5, (Mahaica/Berbice), Education Minister Priya Manickchand lauded the region’s Education Department and its officers for the work they have done, while announcing that the region has attained universal secondary education.

“So this region is right at the front of where we want to be. In fact, it can be emulated; and we are using it as a pattern for other regions,” she said.

She added that, even as the region has acquired this status, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is now looking to do more to ensure that each student has a place in a discrete secondary school.
Manickchand alluded to the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) commitment during the 2011 general elections to work to acquire universal secondary education before the Government’s first term expires, so that, all across the country, every student of the secondary age cohort would be capable of accessing space in a secondary school.
She also highlighted that Guyana has achieved Millennium Development Goal Number Two — achieving universal primary education — which means that every child in the primary age cohort in the country, despite where they live, can access a primary education.

According to her, it is not always about building school buildings, but also about how students from remote areas can access those buildings, so the MoE may have to provide transportation, something which it has been doing.
To substantiate her point, the minister alluded to the MoE purchase of a speedboat and a bus this school term to ensure that Mahaicony students attend the Mahaicony Secondary School.
She noted that, even as the children are now in the classrooms, the MoE is currently focusing more intensely on the quality of education delivered.
Informing that commissioning of the Fort Wellington Secondary School’s new wing is just the first of several such activities in the region for the school term, the minister expressed delight that the MoE is at the stage of commissioning the schools.

She indicated that the new wing of the school facilitates enhanced comfort for students in other parts of the school, even as she anticipated improvement in the results coming out of that school. “So can you show the people who are in charge that, once you give the children the space, once you give them the furniture, once you give them the text books, they will do well,” she charged.
This new wing can accommodate 150 students, thus eliminating the school’s previous problem of overcrowding. It already houses 135 grade seven students, who are afforded the opportunity to learn in conducive environs.
Manickchand noted that during the last Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, the school recorded 100% passes in grades one to three in Agricultural Science; and she urged the students to replicate those grades in other subject areas.
She said the MoE is confident that the students would make good use of the facility and are going to treat it as they would treat their homes, but she nevertheless urged them to make every effort to keep the building clean and safe. “Be conscious that it is your duty to keep this building in a condition where you can pass it on to people who will come after you and have them benefit from the education that you are benefiting from,” she asserted.
She informed that cabinet is currently looking to ensure the 2014 budget provides for all schools to have the furniture they need.
Manickchand also applauded the demonstrated interest of the regional councillors, who largely attended the occasion. She even credited their interest with being a contributing factor to the region’s extraordinary performance.
The minister expressed hope that the school would be blessed, and that the children who use it would be able to realise their fullest potential.
Also delivering remarks on the occasion, Headteacher of the Fort Wellington Secondary School, Ms. Yonette Walters, explained that when she came to the school in September 2011, there was an issue of overcrowding, since the school had admitted 154 students that year and was challenged in placing them.
She said two classes were situated outside of the school building, one under the stairway and one in the vicinity of the canteen; and this arrangement was very frustrating to teachers, students and parents.
The regional education officer (REO) was notified, and it was decided that the students be housed at a boardroom at Fort Wellington, and access was given to that building on the November 1, 2011, with  three teachers operating there on a full time basis, while two did so on a part-time basis.
In July 2012, the Education Ministry awarded a contract to construct the new wing of the school and while there were a few glitches in the construction, the keys were handed over to the head teacher on September 3, 2013.
Ms Walters said the school is happy to be afforded an extension to the existing building, and she thanked the Government, and in particular the MoE, even as she assured that the building would be properly cared.
Ms. Walters said students are now comfortable, and this would result in improved performance.
However, she noted that the student population is growing rapidly, and so asked that the bottom of the new wing be enclosed. She disclosed that the school has on roll some 621 students.
In his remarks, Regional Education Officer Owen Pollard said Region 5 is progressing, particularly in the area of education. He declared that education is one of the key means of addressing poverty, and pointed out that commissioning of the new wing would further facilitate the process of educating the students, and is indicative of the progress taking place in expanding secondary education in Region 5 and in Guyana.
Mr. Pollard noted that Guyana is changing rapidly, and parents are increasingly investing in their children’s education.
He assured that, in the very near future, the lower flat of the new wing would be enclosed; and he urged the students to care and cherish the building, so that future generations would be able to benefit from its use.
Also present at the commissioning ceremony were Assistant Chief Education Officer for Secondary Schools, Ms. Leslyn Charles and Region 5 Vice Chairman, Mr. Rion Peters.
The school’s choir performed a rendition of the country’s national song, and there was also a poem about education by one of the students.