–all trainees to start receiving salary instead of stipends from next year, Minister Manickchand says

MINISTER of Education Priya Manickchand on Friday commissioned a new Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) facility at Vreed-en-Hoop, West Coast Demerara.
According to a press release from the ministry, this new facility is located at the Regional Department of Education Region Three (Esseqibo Islands-West Demerara), and will cater to the needs of some 300 teachers.

The commissioning of this new facility forms part of the ministry’s plan to achieve 100 per cent trained teachers in the classroom.
In her address at the commissioning ceremony, Minister Manickchand said that teachers are important assets to the development of a country.

She related that being cognisant of this, the government, through the Ministry of Education, has taken several steps to ensure that teachers are provided with training opportunities, as well as other benefits to compensate them for their work.

With this, she announced that some 100 teachers across the country will be receiving duty-free concessions, while 50 will be receiving scholarships to the University of Guyana.
Additionally, the Education Minister told the gathering that from January 2023, “every teacher, even as you train, will be receiving a salary as an in-service teacher.”
Minister Manickchand also said that the quality of service being offered at the CPCE will be improved.

Also delivering remarks was Chief Education Officer Dr. Marcel Hutson, who urged teachers to view themselves as an integral part of transforming Guyana’s education sector. He said that teachers hold the responsibility to nurture students.

CPCE Principal Noella Joseph said that previously, training for teachers in Region Three was facilitated at the Vreed-en-Hoop Primary School. However, due to the increase in the student population at the college, the facility was constructed to provide better training opportunities.

Regional Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council of Region Three, Inshan Ayube was also present, and encouraged the teachers to take full advantage of the opportunities presented.

(Ministry of Education)