Government is looking to make financial contributions to President’s College come 2016, President David Granger told the media after a lengthy tour and meeting at the East Coast Demerara learning institution yesterday.The President said he wanted to see the issues facing the country’s premier secondary institution, located at Golden Grove, ECD being addressed. “There are local issues that concern this campus that we would address, and it is now the time that we are still planning the budget for FY (Fiscal Year) 2016 and we want to make sure within that financial year we could give the college as much as possible in terms of financial support to solve the problems which exist here,” said the President following an almost two-hour meeting with members of staff of the College and Education Ministry officials.

President Granger said his visit to the “School of Excellence” was not a policy-finding visit. “It is important to see my visit here as a fact-finding visit, not a policy finding visit,” he told reporters, adding, “I came here to find out what the needs of this college are, and I will do my best to have a meeting with the ministry and see how those needs can be met.” The President, during a tour of the school’s facilities, was briefed by Principal Carolyn Canterbuy and Deputy Principal Yvonette Chichester along with other staff on what can be termed the deteriorating facilities the children and teachers of the school are forced to work with. “I came here to look at the campus, listen to the staff and learn what the problems were. I walked around the campus, I went into the laboratory, into the classrooms, into the stores, kitchen and dormitories. I want to inform myself about the conditions at this college.

President’s College, like other educational institutions is “a very important part of our education system.
“I had an engagement with the members of staff and they raised issues and I will then go to a meeting with the Minister of Education and of course with other officials to see how best some of these issues could be met,” the President said. Granger said it is his intention to ensure that President’s College and all secondary schools across the country are “performing at the optimum, at their highest level.”
He stressed the importance of raising the standard of education throughout the country. “We want to assure parents and students themselves here that we will provide within the limit of our resources, the best possible resources to enable them to achieve high standards, high academic standards.”

The lack of textbooks was just one issue raised by staff of the school, and President Granger has assured that that issue, among others, would be raised with Education Minister Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine. Insufficient facilities and outdated equipment were also foremost among complaints raised by staff of the school.
The President said: “A lot of things were raised here, which I need to discuss with the Minister of Education, before I give any definitive answer.
“Yes, textbooks is a problem, but as you can see, the physical infrastructure needs rehabilitation and the personnel, staffing situation …all these things need to be attended to,” Granger added. For him, the most “important thing” is that the students leaving President’s College are “up to the standards of any other school in Guyana. This is not a college that should be allowed to deteriorate or the standards be allowed to fall,” the President emphasised.
Science and Technology
Meanwhile, at a Special Assembly, President Granger beseeched students to explore more studying subjects in the field of Science and Technology. He noted that change was inevitable and Guyana must advance its education sector.
“What you do here will determine what happens to Guyana. That is why I would like to see that President’s College takes the lead as the College of Science and Technology. Change is inevitable… embrace information technology,” he said.
He noted that while the school has excelled in many areas including poetry and sport, developments needed to be made in other areas. “We have to build highways, bridges, stellings, factories…and to develop this country … we need engineers, scientists, mathematicians and architects.”
Granger stressed the need to make use of the abundant resources available. “President’s College will take the lead, along with other secondary schools, in opening this new chapter of Science and Technology in education.
“We are moving forward, we are not moving backwards. Bear in mind as we move forward, we need to accept and adopt new technology. We can’t live in the past. We have to look to the future. Right here, this college is the beginning of a new life; this college is the gateway to changing Guyanese economy,” the Guyanese leader told the students of the school founded by former President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
Adding that time is ripe for change, the president said it is up to the next generation “to move the economy forward.”
“Education opens the door to empowerment. Education is the gateway to employment, education is the gateway to empowerment,” Granger remarked stressing that “Education is the mother of everything good that you want to achieve in this life, but at the same time you must make sure you do not create what is called education apartheid.”
Granger said there should be no gap in the education system, stressing the need for every student to be properly educated. ‘What we want to do in Guyana is close the gap, what we want to do is remove the inequalities so that everyone has the same access to good education… What we need to do here and elsewhere in the education system is give all children access to quality education everywhere, not the five top schools, not ten top schools, but 50 top schools. We want to ensure that everyone can benefit from a good education.”

“PC you good?” Granger shouted as he stood at the podium amidst loud screams and applause. “I’ve come here to look, I’ve come here to listen, and I’ve come here to learn. I’ll be back again in November. Today I’ve come to learn from you all. I’ve come to see how the students study and live on this campus.”
He said while he had chosen to visit President’s College, he remained the president of all Guyana. “I am not president of President’s College. I am president of Guyana, all Guyana. So although I love you, I love Guyana too. I have to make sure that the resources of Guyana are available to all regions of Guyana.”
Granger said it was important that the needs of the school were met, but noted that there were approximately 600 students attending President’s College as against 75,000 secondary school students across the country.
“I am interested in high standards, and nothing will be done during my tenure as president to lower the standards of President’s College,” Granger said to loud applause. He acknowledged that there were many problems in the education system that had to be fixed, and noted that work was being done to have those problems solved.
“I am concerned about conditions upon which children are educated. My visit here today is part of my whole purpose of being President to make sure that this administration and this president is able to hand over to you the children of Guyana, a country that is better than we found.”
Carolyn Canterbury, Principal of President’s College, dubbed the President’s visit to the institution as a “special day.”
“We view your visit here today as timely and conventional. It is our perception that today’s visit will be recorded as a remarkable and memorable one and it will certainly be added to the history of President’s College.”
Canterbury thanked President Granger for visiting the school and said his visit represented “a beginning of new days here at President’s College. We thank you from the depths of our hearts, we will not disappoint you.”
Over the years, President’s College was deprived of much-needed resources and was deemed a financial burden to the former administration. In September 1985, the school opened its doors to students as the premier secondary institution that catered for the ‘cream of the crop’.
President Granger was presented with tokens of appreciation by Rajni Persaud, a fourth form student who is wheelchair-bound. In return, the President presented two books on Guyana’s Independence to the School’s library.

By Ariana Gordon