SEVERAL public servants are benefiting from the 4th edition of Spanish courses being held under a cultural agreement between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the government of the Republic of Colombia which was signed in 1970.
Some 77 public officials are participating in the four-month course which is scheduled to conclude in August. At the end of the course, the participants will receive a certificate from the Universidad Del Norte of Colombia. Meanwhile, National Ozone Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture, Behonka Dey said, “It’s a bit challenging, especially the vocabulary, although I like that the class is continuous.”
She noted that she often encounters Spanish while at work and “even though I might not be fluent, I still need to understand what is being said.”
Another participant, Foreign Service Officer, Robin Motayne, described the course as interactive. “Very little English is spoken in the class, which is good, because a foreign officer should be versed in a language; at least one or two,” Motayne noted.
Other participants were drawn from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), the Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP), Carnegie School of Home Economics, Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC), the Ministry of Business, the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Ministry of Public Health, the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) and the Ministry of Education among others.
The course is being conducted by Professor Nelson Hernan Giraldo who has taught at several universities and academic institutions.