AS the government rolls out a number of initiatives aimed at improving the Education Sector, children of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) were on Monday gifted several book-bags as the new school term approaches.

Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon, presented the bags to the students who came out in large numbers at the People’s National Congress Reform’s office for the event in the company of their guardians.

Regional Information Officer Ganesh Mahipaul told the Guyana Chronicle that the region’s improved academic performance this year was as a result of government’s support for education.

In 2016, a sum of $40B was allocated to the education sector by the APNU+AFC government while the following year, the sum was increased to $43.1B. In 2018, the sum of $44.1B was allocated to the sector while in 2019, that sum was surpassed to $52.3B.
This year, Ruth Larson and Shrirish Persaud from the Academy of Excellence copped the coveted number 1 ranking for the region with a tied score of 530 marks at the National Grade 6 Assessment.

In the 2019 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, schools in the region also performed well. The Zeeburg Secondary recorded a matriculation rate of 92.68% while the West Demerara Secondary recorded a matriculation rate of 91.67%.