IN a message to teachers on World Teachers’ Day which was celebrated on Sunday, Minister of Education, Sonia Parag, urged the nation’s educators to recognise their importance and their value.

She noted the transformation of the education sector, stating that it has seen significance strides under the leadership of President Dr. Irfaan Ali.

The minister remarked that in the next five years, they look forward to building on this, working along with teachers to advance the sector.

She told them, “You have the noble and monumental task of nurturing our young minds into beautiful adults,” before adding, “I look forward to building a partnership with you, one in which there is professionalism and accountability, one in which we will be able to create support systems, not only for students and parents, but for you the teachers, where we can have open dialogue to solve critical issues.”

To those teachers who have dedicated years of service to this profession, as well as their time and effort to ensure our children perform at their best, Minister Parag thanked them.

In its manifesto, the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic-led Government pledged to improve access to education across the board, from nursery to tertiary, build out schools with modern facilities and increase the salaries and working conditions of teachers.

Additionally, the government at the start of the year committed to improving the number of trained educators in our schools, stating that more than 4,000 teachers have graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

The sum of $175 billion was provided to the education sector to advance the government’s vision of free world-class education for all Guyanese.

This includes the upgrading and expansion of school infrastructure, cash transfers and the school feeding programme, improving the availability of textbooks and classroom resources, curriculum development and targeted intervention and expanding connectivity and information and communication technology, tertiary education, and technical and vocational training.