MINISTER of State, Mr. Joseph Harmon said that the task of preparing the young generation for leadership of Guyana falls primarily on the public education system; noting that while the private schools seem to be attaining higher pass rates at examinations, they only account for about one-third of the total number of students who wrote the examination.

It is for this reason he said, that the Government, as a matter of policy, allocated $144M to implement measures that would improve the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results, particularly in mathematics and English. The minister made these remarks on Wednesday at the Ann’s Grove Primary School’s graduation ceremony.

“We have to produce out of the public schools in Guyana the quality of individuals who can take their places in a world that is changing, in a country that is going green, we want to produce environmentalists, scientists, biologists, doctors, lawyers, people who can move the country forward to its rightful place in the world… I am happy to see the turn around that is taking place in education. It is our responsibility as a Government to ensure that the education system is given the resources that it needs, more importantly, it is our responsibility to ensure that the public education system gets the quality of resources that it requires from the State,” he said.

Minister Harmon said that while the improvement in this year’s NGSA results is indeed significant and ought to be celebrated, it is just a small step in a long journey to ensure that Guyanese students, regardless of where they live, excel.
Turning to the graduating class, the Minister said that the world is constantly changing and must be able to embrace and adapt to these changes.

He also called for greater partnership between teachers, parents and the community at large to ensure that children are not led astray. “I want to encourage you to take your education seriously…Remember education is a partnership between the State, the parents, the teachers, the students and the Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA), and as a Government we will continue to do our best to ensure that the facilities are provided for you.” The Minister also distributed a quantity of school supplies to the graduating class. This year, the school’s top student, Ms. Shoneza Adams, secured a place at President’s College with 494 marks. (Ministry of the Presidency)