–Minister McCoy tells Region 10 parents

PUBLIC Affairs Minister, Kwame McCoy, has identified education as a critical element in personal and national development as he joined his Cabinet colleagues in distributing the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant in Region 10.
“Education is power, don’t we all know that. Education can move mountains; education is the way to the future; education is the thing to unlock the potential of our children and the future and take us as a country forward swiftly so,” he said during his address to parents at the Mackenzie High School. He added that “the more we educate our children, the “better their chances of being successful”. The minister noted that despite the COVID pandemic, the government has been able to fulfil its manifesto promise as it recognises the importance of education and what it means for the country.

The pandemic has also posed challenges for education delivery, to which the government has responded by adopting several measures to minimise learning losses. These include the use of online platforms, printed worksheets and an extended Guyana Learning Channel.
Minister McCoy said the Government intends to expedite its Information Communication Technology (ICT) programme to ensure every community across the country has Internet connectivity.

“We promise you we will work hard, day in day out, to make sure that we can find solutions to make sure of that. We find ways to make sure that first and foremost, we have a good understanding of the needs of the people as we do believe we have, but notwithstanding that we have to continue to interact with people.”
The minister encouraged the parents and guardians to use the monies in the interest of their children and urged them to get vaccinated to help achieve herd immunity in the country so that progress is not hindered.

Several Lindeners praised the government for the programme.
Ines Spear, a beneficiary, said she “thinks that this is something good that the government is doing as it will help out with the parents and the children because the crisis that is going on in Guyana, it is very hard. So, I hope that the government continue this for the children.”
Parvati Mohabeer, a mother of two, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI) said she was “thankful because this is a great help as there are so much things I have to do for my children.” Initially launched in 2014, the “Because We Care” programme seeks to support parents with children in the public school system. Some $3.2 billion is being utilised this year to benefit 172,000 learners. (DPI)