–at Westminster Secondary School

THE Ministry of Education on Monday engaged stakeholders of the Westminster Secondary School on the plan to launch the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP) at the school.

Parents and students were engaged by officers within the Ministry’s Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Unit on the different subjects students will be exposed to, and what will be expected of them.

Assistant Chief Education Officer (ACEO) (Technical), Marcia Paddy said that the meeting was aimed at sensitising parents and students about the programme, since the teachers have already benefitted from a similar process.

She said that due to the path Guyana is taking, more industries will be expanded, and greater emphasis is being placed on skills development, formally known as Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

Paddy said that, initially, the programme will offer training in agriculture science, furniture making, and hospitality and business studies.

According to the Assistant Chief Education Officer, the programme will be expanded to offer training in agro-processing and livestock farming, as Guyana needs to produce the workforce to supply the expanding industries.

Paddy said it is the intention of the ministry that every student leave secondary school with at least one skills certificate.

Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hutson said that the Ministry of Education believes that every child is born gifted, and, therefore, the education sector must do everything possible to ensure those gifts are maximised, so that children could function at their optimum. He said that Guyana has experienced a revival in terms of the importance and interest in TVET.

Dr. Hutson related that offering this programme to students of the school will give them the perfect opportunity to advance, develop, fulfil their purpose, and be dispatched into society to be contributors to the development of Guyana. (Education Ministry)