Several students and teachers from the 10 administrative regions emerged winners at the Education Ministry, Special Education Needs Unit’s (SEN) fourth annual Signing Bee Competition at the Theatre Guild, Georgetown on Wednesday.

The competition was divided into teacher and student categories. In the seven to 11 age group, Abigail Jairam (Region Six) copped the first spot, followed by Deon Smith (Georgetown) in second place and Troy Scott (Region 10) at third.
The 12-16 age group saw Kacia Miller (Georgetown) securing the first spot, Faith Bennett (Georgetown) second and Satesh Raj Kumar (Region Six) third.

In the teacher category, first place went to Yvonne Deonarine (Region Six), second place to Fiona Fraser (Region Three) and third place to Orissa Sinclair (Region Six).
During the breaks of the competition, persons from the audience were also engaged and got an opportunity to sign spell and win prizes.

The event forms part of this year’s calendar of activities for Education Month, celebrated under the theme “Education: the key to national development”.

The Signing Bee Competition is a unique opportunity for persons with special needs to participate actively in Education Month 2019. The competition involved children identifying and then spelling the word that represented the item displayed using sign language.
Delivering remarks at the opening of the competition, Deputy Chief Education Officer (Administration), Ingrid Trotman told the gathering that the ministry has embarked on a sustained effort to ensure everyone, including children with special needs, have equal educational opportunities.

“There is no limit to what any of you can do,” Trotman said as she reminded the participants that the sky is the limit and they should not limit themselves.
She noted that the children’s participation in the competition is a demonstration of the ministry’s commitment to improving the delivery of SEN. The DCEO further stated that the success of the participants will inspire others to greater accomplishments.
National SEN Coordinator, Savvie Hopkinson said the competition is evidence of the profound ongoing changes in the education system. Hopkinson believes the new approach to SEN by the MoE is a clear indication that the MoE has a focus on holistic educational outcomes.

The event was attended by the Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson and other senior education officials. This year’s competition has seen participation from special schools nationwide such as the David Rose Special School, the New Amsterdam Special Needs School, Diamond Special Needs School, Beterverwagting Primary School’s SEN Department, Schoonard and Linden Special schools.