NATIONAL Parent Teachers Association (PTA) Coordinator, Carol Benn, has reported that the pilot Voluntary Mentoring Programme which will come to an end this month has positively transformed targeted indisciplined students. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Education, the students selected to undergo the programme now have an upbeat attitude towards their peers and teachers, and have recorded improvements in their academic performance.
The ministry, in keeping with its thrust to build and promote a healthy self-esteem and image of secondary school students, re-launched the programme in March last year.
Some of the students, Benn said, are now role models to their colleagues and have also taken on the role of peer mentors.
The pilot programme, which has gained widespread support from head teachers and parents, will continue, she said, and noted that it will be extended to five more schools by May this year.
Advanced by Education Minister Shaik Baksh, the initiative aims to inculcate acceptable behaviours in students, promote tolerance and address some of the challenges facing the education system, which include violence and students’ low academic performance.
The intervention also has at its core the strengthening of relations among the school, home and community.
Under the programme, a student (mentee) is paired with a former student or another person considered suitable (mentor).
During the pilot, the mentor, the mentee and his/her parent/guardian met and the latter introduced to a range of activities, such as concerts, exhibitions, and family outings, and also interacted on a number of issues, particularly those of interest to the mentee.
In addition, the mentors were encouraged to form themselves into groups, and parents were encouraged volunteer their services to establish school clubs to keep students more meaningfully occupied, the release stated.
The ministry last September also teamed up with ChildLink, formerly EveryChild Guyana, to introduce the Youth Vision Programme. This initiative is geared to empower some 2,000 vulnerable youths with the requisite knowledge and skills to realise their full potential.
The one-year project, which significantly supports the work of the Schools’ Welfare Department to create more violence-free schools and promote environments that are conductive to learning, is being piloted at the St. Winifride’s, St. Mary’s, Dolphin, Tutorial and the Houston Secondary schools.

Some 50 teachers, along with 25 youth advocates and 100 student mentors, have been tasked to deliver the programme which is also supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund.
Minister Baksh has lauded the partnership his ministry enjoys with ChildLink and other local and international partners to improve performance in the education sector, a mission the Ministry of Education cannot accomplish alone.
He also announced that more guidance and counselling officers will be placed in the school system to motivate students, build their self-esteem and confidence to perform better in the classroom and enjoy a more harmonious relationship with their teachers and peers.
Since the placement of guidance and counselling officers at certain schools last year, there has been a significant decline in violence and other forms of unacceptable behaviours in the school system.