… as Minister tells of Guyana Learning Channel being the envy of other Caribbean states
THE Guyana Learning Channel continues to be the envy of other countries in the Caribbean, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said in the National Assembly Wednesday night.
She said the Learning Channel was, to date, the only one of its kind in the Caribbean, and some CARICOM members states had even approached the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, to seek advice on how they can replicate this type programme in their own territories.
She made the comments while responding to one of several questions from Opposition Member of Parliament and Shadow Education Minister, Amna Ally, as well as other Opposition Parliamentarians. This was shortly before the estimates for current and capital expenditures of $32.3B for the Ministry of Education was passed unopposed.
Minister Manickchand had been asked about the cost of the channel which is a satellite communication network that facilitates the production and nationwide broadcast of educational programmes.
The network reaches all communities in Guyana and the service is provided by Television Guyana (TVG) which is said to be the only company in Guyana that has the capability of uploading programme information to satellites and then downloading the programme to receivers countrywide.
The contract caters for National Center for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) to pay to TVG the equivalent of US$15,000 monthly, plus VAT.
Minister Manickchand disclosed that construction of three new secondary schools will begin this year, under the Secondary Education Improvement Project.
These are the Good Hope Secondary that will provide for 800 students from the Good Hope/ Lusignan area, the Yarrowkabra Secondary that will accommodate 800 students from the Upper East Bank Demerara area, and the Parfaite Harmonie Secondary which will provide secondary education to one thousand children in Region 3 .
The sum of $55M, Minister Manickchand said, has been allocated for construction work to commence on these three schools and they are expected to be completed by mid-2016.
Among other allocations approved is one for $488M for the purchase of exercise books and text books for both primary and secondary school children.
Minister Manickchand said that the significant allocation is to be used to provide exercise books for every child in the country, and purchase and procure text books for both primary and secondary school children.
She said, “What we want to do is to make sure by this provision this year is that every single primary school child has basic text books in Maths, English, Social Studies, Sciences and a Reader, and that every single secondary school child has the relevant Maths, English and Science text, and some foreign languages text books.”
She disclosed also that under Education Subventions and Grants, the sum of $3,490,447 has been allocated to cater for the more than 188,000 students who will each receive $10,000 as a cash grant for the very first time in the history of Guyana.
Manickchand said the modus operandi for distribution of the grant is yet to be finalised, but the aim will be to distribute it smoothly, with transparency and accountability.
The sum of $205M has been allocated to the NCERD for purchasing of mini science kits which can be substitutes for a complete science lab; for management training of Heads and Deputy Heads of schools to enable them to better manage their schools; for scripts for the learning Channel which have a local bias; and for training in Spanish and Portuguese, among other elements of its mandate.
The budget also provides, under the National Education Policy, the sum of $30M which will be used to purchase a number of vehicles, including two 29-seater buses which will be used to transport children living on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway to and from nursery, primary and secondary schools at the Kuru Kuru educational complex.
Minister Manickchand disclosed that a few years ago the International Labour Organization (ILO) funded a partnership between the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Education to provide transportation and meals for children living along the highway, so that they were more likely to attend school.
She said that programme was massively successful but the funding had come to an end.
Government will however be taking up the slack by purchasing the buses to continue to take these children to school.
Government, she said, will also continue to provide meals for them.
The children of the David Rose Centre for the Handicapped who have special education needs, and who generally have difficulties with using the public transportation system, will also be provided with a bus by the Ministry of Education for transportation to and from school.
The sum of $30M had also been allocated to train teachers on how to use Readers developed by the Ministry of Education for primary and secondary school children.
Minister Manickchand explained that the prohibitive cost of text books has prevented government from giving a text book to a child, thus possibly limiting the learning that the child can have.
As a result the Ministry had embarked on writing some of its own Readers, including an entire Nursery series called Roraima Readers, and a series called the Atlantic Readers for children from Grades 1 to 6.
The Readers, which are being tested now, have flash cards, wall charts and other visual learning aids which are aligned with not only the curriculum, but with international literacy standards and guidelines.
The sum of $30M will be used for training of teachers and stakeholders about how they can use the Readers effectively .
Source: (By Clifford Stanley) https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/04/11/32-3b-education-ministry-allocation-approved-unanimously