THE Guyana Improving Teacher Education Project (GITEP) donated books and projectors along with digital cameras worth in excess of GY$12M to the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the University of Guyana (UG) yesterday. The books and equipment presented are directly linked at improving both institutions library holdings. The items were acquired from Mallory International in the United Kingdom through international competitive bidding. They comprised multiple copies of recent publications and revised editions on a wide range of subjects.

The CPCE received approximately 86 titles with multiple copies, along with 10 projectors and 10 cameras to further enhance the integration of ICT in the teaching and learning environment. On the other hand, the university received almost 58 books along with some amount of projectors and cameras to provide cutting -edge research, improve learning, and professional development of teachers and students.
Tota Managar, Coordinator of the GITEP programme, said in his remarks at the handing- over ceremony at the CPCE and UG, that observers were sent to interview administrators and staff of both institutions to ascertain what was needed to boost their performance.
Therefore, books were identified as the necessary items on both institutions lists. They also catered for the satellite campus and learning resource centres on both campuses.
The objective of GITEP is to assist the Ministry of Education and the Government of Guyana to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of quality teachers’ education in Guyana.
A number of initiatives were previously undertaken by GITEP, whereby the Faculty of Education and Humanities was the main beneficiary. In the quest for institutional strengthening, new courses were introduced; administrators were exposed to leadership and management courses both locally and overseas, while lecturers were provided with intense coaching from specialists in key subject areas.

Presently, some lecturers are embarking on short -term online courses fostered by GITEP. The faculty was also provided with an ICT lab with 30 work stations and a refurbished room to house equipment. One of its biggest achievements was the push for near-perfect collaboration with the two institutions.
GITEP is currently in the process of providing a state- of –the- art smart room to the faculty before the conclusion of this month. Mangar said that a contractor has already been assigned to refurbish a room into a smart room.
Stipends were also presented to four of the faculties outstanding students, based on exceptional Grade Point Averages (GPA).