…institution to restructure programmes to meet national developmental needs
A new board has been appointed at the Kuru Kuru Cooperative College and will soon take on the task of restructuring the programmes of the institution to be more relevant to national developmental needs.

The new board, among other things, will pay attention to staffing and maintenance of the college.

The board is chaired by University of Guyana Bursar, John Seeram, who is also the chairman of the newly constituted board of the Carnegie School of Home Economics.

Other members include Chief Co-op Development Officer, Kareem Abdul-Jabar; Deputy Chief Education Officer (Technical), Surish Baijnauth; National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) Curriculum Unit Head, Sandra Persaud; Woman Affairs Director, Hymawattie Lagan; Adult Education Association Director, Patricia David; and National Parent Teacher Association Coordinator, Carol Benn.

Education Minister Shaik Baksh, who installed the board, charged its members to work hard to realise the new vision of the college, and to revive co-operative education which has been de-emphasised over the years.

He urged the board to consult with the Private Sector Commission to ascertain the areas where skilled personnel are needed and to design new programmes or revise existing ones to meet those needs.

The programmes offered by the school, he said, must be of a quality standard to gain recognition from employers, particularly in the private sector.

Baksh said too that the programmes must be looked at in a broad context, pointing out that they must be of a standard that will allow students to further their education at institutions of higher learning.

On this point, the minister requested that the board implement the newly launched entrepreneurship education programme for technical students and focus on developing the school into a vibrant information technology centre.

He also suggested that the college forge a closer relation with the Carnegie School of Home Economics with the aim of offering basic programmes that will be outside the major focus of Carnegie when it embarks on its new vision as a training and hospitality institute.

The school, he said, can also explore offering remediation programmes in core subjects for students who do not perform well at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.
The new board will submit a report to Minister Baksh by September on the way forward for the college.
The minister is expected to table the report to Cabinet for approval and funding of a new vision for the school. The board is also hoping that the school will receive an increased subvention from government to meet its day-to-day operations.
Meanwhile, the school, located at Durban Backlands, Georgetown, is registered under the National Accreditation Council and its accounts were recently audited by Education Ministry officials.