— President tells education march and rally

By Alexis Rodney

PRESIDENT David Granger on Friday made another commitment of his government’s support to education in Guyana and to ensuring that every child, whether they live in the hinterland or on the coast, receives primary and secondary education.
The Head of State made the promise to close to 1,500 students who had gathered at Durban Park, Georgetown, for the celebration of Education Day 2017.
The event which saw the attendance of students and educators from Georgetown and outlying communities was held under the theme, “Promoting wellness in our communities through quality Education.”
Following a grand march along Brickdam from the Stabroek Market Square, the students converged at the facility to participate in a grand cultural extravaganza.
President Granger was adamant that the slogan “Every child needs to be in school” is not only a motto, but a declaration of intent, a statement of mission and determination.
He said he hopes that regional administrations would also embrace that concept.

“We are committed to Universal Primary and Secondary Education. Every single Guyanese child must be educated,” President Granger said, noting that he will give all the support needed to the Education Ministry to ensure that every child goes to school.
According to the Head of State over the last two years, government was able to refine its attitude towards education reform, emphasising that the major concern is that of providing easy access to education.

“If the children cannot get to the school, the school must get to the children,” President Granger said.
“There must be more schools, more staff and even within those schools , there must be more libraries, more laboratories. Schools, as expensive as they are, are not liabilities, they are assets. We will continue to spend because spending money on education is money well spent,” the Head of State declared.
He said the Department of Education System Innovation and Reform is a reality within the Ministry of Education. He told the massive turnout of primary and secondary school students that education is something to be enjoyed rather than endured.
“This is an exciting period of your life… it is for you now to take advantage of these facilities… Exciting things are happening in education. You have a great future and I look to you the children to lead Guyana forward for the next 50 years,” the Guyanese leader said to loud applause.

Education Minister Nicolette Henry in her address called on schools to “step up to the challenge.”.
Parents, she said must also continue to support teachers. She said the overarching priorities of the Ministry of Education include reducing the disparity in education, by ensuring that all schools are working to the same high standards.

IMPROVE DELIVERY
“The Government of Guyana (GoG) has [as] a principal objective of its public policy to strengthen the administration of the 10 regions and improve the delivery of education and other public services.”
As part of that policy, she said there will be the establishment of regional technical institutes to provide access to technical education for a greater number of the country’s children. It will be seeking to continue improving the quality of education with revised teaching methods.
She listed some of the big-ticket items that were completed over the last academic year by the Ministry of Education. These include the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) which she said provided government with the opportunity to listen and receive feedback on important issues. There was also the Grade Six Intervention which the ministry hopes to replicate and mainstream into this year’s programme.

Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson said it is important that the nation be provided with every opportunity for the expansion and growth of the fundamental resource called education, that will promote the development of communities and the country at large.
He said the ministry has been working assiduously to ensure that children from every part of Guyana, including the hinterland, enjoy the best possible education, continuing that the ministry remains focused on improving the quality of teacher education.
“We will focus [on] improving the physical facilities in our education system, fostering community alliance to ensure we move forward collectively. We will continue to strengthen the management of our school system. Continue to promote family life education in schools, so that children would make wise decisions relating to their health.”
According to him, the ministry will also seek to close the gap in the performances of hinterland schools as against schools on the coast.
“We believe that we are at a magnificent turnaround of our education sector, however, a union of the school, home and community is critical to the development and sustainability of this process,” Hutson said.