– among top priorities of new DCEO for Amerindian and Hinterland Development

By Telesha Ramnarine

A NEW position within the structure of the Ministry of Education – that of Deputy Chief Education Officer for Amerindian and Hinterland Development – has been created to better meet the needs of those in such communities and afford them equal opportunities.

Hailing from Santa Rosa Village, Moruca, Region One (Barima/Waini), Marti De Souza, who has been chosen to act in the position, could not be happier. “Coming from the hinterland myself, I know of the challenges in these communities,” De Souza has said.

His role will be to ensure that education policies and goals are established, defined and operable in the hinterland. He is tasked with ensuring that the gap between hinterland and coastal education is bridged, so far as the inequities and inequalities are concerned.

Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle on Thursday, he said he has personally seen how many indigenous communities are shortchanged when a comparison is done with the opportunities afforded to coastland schools and those in the hinterland.

“I am definitely happy to be sitting in this position where I can actually make a difference,” he said. Although there may be many issues to iron out, De Souza spoke about two main ones that he said he wants to go after immediately.

A lack of access to education and limited human resources are two of the challenges that especially plague the hinterland communities. “Even though we have secondary schools in the hinterland, if we look at the facilities we have as compared to those on the coast, you can simply see that they’re not equal. There are also high percentages of untrained people in the schools.”
De Souza noted that teachers must be provided with opportunities for upgrading, irrespective of where they are in Guyana. “What we are looking at here is devising programmes; devising training programmes that include many of our teachers. And we have to be creative… keeping in mind the logistics involved.”
De Souza said he will also be paying attention to how best partnerships can be created with sister agencies and even non-governmental organisations to ensure that the hinterland is adequately cared for.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education said it understands the importance of capacity building and thus continues to improve its structure to serve the needs of the nation. “It is no secret that one of Guyana’s greatest challenges is ensuring that persons residing in the hinterland communities can access and benefit from the same opportunities and quality of education as those living on the coast,” the ministry said in a statement.

The aim of the newly-created post is to prepare, and place on equal footing, the children of the hinterland so that all the economic, growth, development and other opportunities arising now, and in the future, will be available equally to them and their families, resulting in Guyana developing at a faster rate.

As such, the ministry said De Souza will be tasked with the effective management and coordination of education programmes in the hinterland.
De Souza is the holder of a Bachelor of Education Degree – Administration with Distinction from the University of Guyana (UG). He served in the capacities of Coordinator for the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) and as a Science Lecturer for the CPCE Distance Education Programme.

He brings to the post a wealth of knowledge, experience and fresh ideas that will help to drive the development of the education sector in the hinterland regions as the Ministry of Education works to bridge the gap between these communities and the coast.