MINISTER within the Ministry of Education Nicolette Henry has said that significant attention will be paid to youth development and culture as the Administration seeks to build a strong and cohesive society.The Government has invested some $33 billion of the $221 billion 2015 budget in the education sector.

Henry, making her contribution to the 2015 budget debate, told the House that the significant investment in the education sector is reflective of the Administration’s thrust to ensure a nation of young people who are equipped with the skills set to take the country forward.
This can only happen through education, she said, noting that education informs change, influences cultural renewal and is a necessary tool to ensure sustainable development.
EDUCATION IS KEY
She said education is key to building a cohesive society, democratic organs, inclusive political systems, fostering tolerance, understanding and respect, and making Guyana a competitive nation.
These are the ideals which the minister said the Administration wants the youths to embrace, as it works to help them overcome their challenges.
Youths are considered to be persons in the age range of 15-35, and in Guyana more than half the population is within this age group.
ADRESSING UNEMPLOYMENT
Minister Henry also told the House that the Administration is aware of the high level of youth unemployment (estimated to be 40%), but will be crafting programmes using an evidence-based approach to address this plight.
In this regard, she said strong focus will be placed on skills-training and entrepreneurship.
Apart from unemployment, other issues affecting youths include teenage pregnancy, poor wages and salaries and suicide. Youths also account for a large number of persons nabbed in various crimes.
Minister Henry said the Administration feels their pain and disclosed that the Ministry of Education has already completed a draft youth policy to guide their development.
Strong attention, she said, will be placed on ensuring a healthy, safe and skilled youth population, equipped and capable of building a Guyana, of which all can be proud.
SPORT IN SCHOOL
The minister also told the House that attention will be placed on the development of sport, and greater emphasis will be given to sport in school and school tournaments.
She said the Administration has recognised sport as a vehicle for bringing people together and bridging the ethnic divide, and will be giving due attention to its promotion as well as support to sports clubs and associations.
The Ministry of Education, Henry said, will also be promoting national festivals and drama in schools, with the focus on promoting the Guyanese culture and national identity.
She said attention will also be given to the promotion and marketing of the works of artists and creative artistes so as to build a viable creative industry. Some $233 million has been allocated in the budget for cultural institutions.
Meanwhile, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Member of Parliament (MP) Neil Kumar, who spoke after Minister Henry, expressed his disappointment that Minister of Finance Winston Jordan did not mention the word “sport” in his budget presentation.
However, he said the former Administration had paid serious attention to this field, and it is evident in the construction of the Guyana National Stadium, the National Aquatic Centre and a national athletics track, all of international standards.
He said through significant investments, the PPP/C Administration has provided a base for the current Government to build on, in terms of the development of sport and urged that at all facilities be properly maintained.
Kumar also informed the House that under the former Administration, some 300 community centres were upgraded throughout Guyana. The former Government, he said, has put Guyana on a sound financial footing.
Guyana, he added, enjoyed eight years of consecutive growth and this was after it had to fix a poor economy that it inherited in 1992.