The British High Commission on Monday launched Phase 1 of a project to upgrade the communication systems in the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security in support of the ministry’s ‘Stamp it out’ initiative to counter violence against women.
A press release said Phase 1 entails establishing full wireless email communication within the ministry. A subsequent phase will be implemented early next year and it is expected to significantly improve external email access to other departments and ministries, and to regional networks. Broadband Wireless Inc has been selected to undertake the work.
The project is intended to build capacity for Minister, Priya Manickchand, to receive key information more quickly and on a regular basis, and will facilitate the speedy dissemination of her instructions throughout the ministry’s network, and her continuing consultations with the wider community. The project forms part of a wider engagement between the Commission and the ministry on developing initiatives to help confront violence against women. These plans will be announced in early 2008.
British High Commissioner Fraser Wheeler said, “We are delighted to be supporting the “Stamp it out” initiative. Violence against women is abhorrent and unacceptable anywhere.
THE Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) on Thursday inaugurated the sixth annual Secondary Schools’ Hydroponics Competition at Leonora Secondary School, West Coast Demerara.
Assistant Chief Education Officer Doodmattie Singh, who chaired the programme, said 45 schools from Regions 2 (Pomeroon/Supenaam),6 (East Berbice/Corentyne) and 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) will be participating this year and the official launch was by First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar.
Mrs. Ramotar said she believes that this initiative is necessary in creating awareness of agriculture and agricultural economics, noting that it is becoming an important area of study for food securty, not only in Guyana but in other places worldwide.
“Initiatives like this will, thus, provide our young people with hands-on experience. Moreover, competitions like this will expose our farmers to innovative and new agricultural techniques which would allow them to build agricultural practices that are more efficient and effective,” she said.
Her Excellency also noted that hydroponics is not a new method of agriculture but has been around for a long time. Nevertheless, she believes that it has special relevance to Guyana, given this country’s vulnerabilities to flooding and extreme heat.
Alternative
She said hydroponics is an alternative means of cultivation that needs to be utilised more by local farmers and people who tend kitchen gardens since its benefits are great, one such being that the process aids in saving water.
“Despite the abundance of water in Guyana, there is a cost to its distribution and accessibility. We need to avoid wastage and encourage conservation of our water resources. Hydroponics, by ensuring the more efficient usage of water, achieves this goal,” the First Lady observed.
Mrs. Ramotar observed that, given the practical benefits, any attempt at encouraging hydroponics in agriculture is to be commended and she used the forum to congratulate IICA for its role in promoting the practice and sponsoring the secondary schools’ competition.
She continued:“I want to encourage our schools to take part in this competition because it is not just about agriculture but also about expressing the creativity of our young people. I am confident that this year’s competition will see some very interesting submissions from our schools which can be applied nationally.”
Also present on the occasion was research scientist, Soil & Water Management Department, National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI), Mr. David Fredericks.
He pointed out that NAREI has been involved in judging the rivalry and, according to him, the agency views hydroponics not only as a way to provide sustainable agriculture but also to adapt to climate change.
Utilised
In addition to conserving water and preventing floods, fertilisers are also more fully utilised in hydroponics, he informed.
Country Representative of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul expressed delight at being involved in promoting hydroponic production in Guyana.
She also expressed gratitude to the First Lady for being the patron of the 2012 competition and remarked that the launching of it is only one component of a bigger project entitled ‘Expansion of hydroponics activities in Guyana’ which FAO is funding in collaboration with IICA.
Fletcher-Paul revealed that the project budget is approximately $2.2M of which FAO is contributing $1.5M. It will be implemented in three phases.
Firstly, there will be training workshops for agricultural science teachers and students, extension officers of the Ministry of Agriculture and members of the Blue Flame Women’s Group.
The second phase is the establishment of five hydroponic units and the final phase will be transplanting the seedlings of selected crops into the growing medium, under the supervision of IICA.
The start of the competition is a part of phase two of the project and the five hydroponic units which FAO will be financing, will be established in two practical institutions in Georgetown, one on the East Coast of Demerara, one at St. Ignatius School in Lethem, Rupununi and another on the premises of the Blue Flame Women’s Agro-processing Group in Mabaruma, North West District.
Hopeful
Fletcher-Paul said they are hopeful that, at the end of this project, there would be an increase in the number of teachers, students, extension officers and agro-processors trained in hydroponic technology. It is also hoped that there will be more students completing their practical requirements in hydroponics for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) syllabus.
She said that the FAO is also proud to be contributing to the achievement of two of Guyana’s objectives for its Poverty Reduction Strategy, which are to facilitate sustainable and stable production systems among vulnerable groups to increase availability of and accessibility to food and to promote systems of use and consumption of healthy foods for increased nutrition in Guyana, especially among vulnerable groups.
“It is a powerful tool from which you can learn some very important lessons. Firstly, it exposes you to new climate smart technology which would provide you and your school with healthy food to add to your diet. Secondly, it’s a viable means of income generation which does not require back-breaking work which you usually associate with farming and agriculture. Thirdly, it allows you to see the practical application of the theory which you will learn in text books and will, therefore, reinforce the knowledge that you will receive from your teachers,” she lectured the audience.
Representing the IICA in Guyana was Sustainable Rural Development Specialist, Mr. Arnold De Mendonca, who said, through the Hydroponics Competition, the Agriculture Ministry in Guyana has adopted hydroponics technology as an integral component of the Agricultural and Environmental Science syllabi and it also forms a part of the School Based Assessment for CSEC.
He commended the Ministry of Education for partnering with IICA to launch the competition, stating:“This technology offers a pivotal link to agricultural diversification, disaster mitigation and food security,”
This year’s competition will be divided into two phases – training for teachers and students and the actual preparation and planting of the various schools’ hydroponic gardens. The schools will be evaluated by a team of agriculturists over a six-week period.
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar said yesterday that if Guyana is going to accelerate social and economic development and put an end to poverty, education has a key role to play in the struggle.
“We have to increase the capacity of our people and the only way I know that can be done is by improving the educational standards within our country.”– President Ramotar
He was speaking at a rally, aimed at promoting partnership for education delivery, in Queen’s College (QC) Auditorium on Thomas Road, Georgetown.
The Head of State said if more attention is given to the allotted money in the budget, it can be seen that a large portion of the expenses goes to the social sector, of which education is a major part.
He declared that there is no better investment than that in education, as by investing in education an investment is being made in the future of Guyana.
Mr. Ramotar said the most important factor for development is people and added: “We have to increase the capacity of our people and the only way I know that can be done is by improving the educational standards within our country.”
He said equality in education can only be achieved if conditions are created in which educational opportunities provided are fully utilized, and noted the emphasis government is placing on the building of schools and dormitories in the interior locations.
President Ramotar said looking at the results of any examination, there is a broader spread with regard to, from which schools the top performers come. He remembered that, several years ago, one could have counted on one hand from where the outstanding ones came and compared that to the fact that the top successful candidate at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination was from Essequibo.
He observed that science and technology has been playing a prominent role in societal development and said constant focus needs to be placed on improving the quality of education, teaching students to think critically and ensuring that they become multi-disciplined, in order for them to compete with the rest of the world.
Mr. Ramotar acknowledged that the private sector plays an important part in developing national educational standards and should be encouraged to give scholarships to students to attend various higher institutions locally and even to go abroad.
President Ramotar disclosed that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has formed a body to look at global education, and he has been invited to sit on the steering committee, the first meeting of which he will be attending on September 26.
EDUCATION Minister Priya Manickchand has warned that her ministry will be taking a strong stance against inadequacies of contractors and other persons who are hired to do work and fail to deliver.
She said the Ministry will be moving, from now, to apply liquidated damages for every single day that a contract is delayed.
Ms. Manickchand said, when contractors bid and promise to deliver a certain quality of work within a certain time, they must stick to those commitments.
Failure to do so will see them being marched to the Courts where the Ministry of Education would be applying for all the penalties that the contract would allow to be applied against errant contractors, she indicated.
The Minister said it is hoped that the Ministry will be sending a strong message to all other contractors when it makes the first errant one an example.
Manickchand declared that it is almost criminal for a small developing country like Guyana to be paying so much of monies to build educational infrastructures and end up with finished products that cannot be considered value for money.
She said when contractors bid for projects and promise that they can complete jobs within a specific timeframe, for a specific sum of money and fail in that bid, it becomes a burden to the persons who are expected to benefit from the finished projects.
Her comments were made while visiting Diamond Primary School, East Bank Demerra, on Monday where it was discovered that an entire section of the building was not outfitted with windows, despite the period under which the construction was in progress.
She said she was informed that the contractor claimed his inability to install the windows was because the shipment was on a boat that did not arrive in Guyana on schedule.
The Minister said, from now, for every major project that the Ministry awards to a contractor, the details and bills of quantity along with other specifics of the projects will be posted up at strategic locations in the communities where they are being executed.
It is believed that such a move will see the community being able to monitor the projects and, where necessary or wherever they feel that the government and, by extension, the taxpayers are being shortchanged, they will inform the Ministry.
EDUCATION Minister, Priya Manickchand, yesterday paid a visit to the Diamond Primary School, East Bank Demerara, which opened its doors for the first time yesterday and will be accommodating one thousand students.
The minister said she was extremely pleased with the first day’s turnout at the school. She referred to the widely believed myth, and in some cases reality, which says the first day at school is usually the day that nothing really happens.
During yesterday’s visit, the minister received a resounding response from the students with whom she interacted as she walked into their classrooms.
After her visit, she expressed pleasure that despite her visit being a surprise one, all the classes were already into the academic programme and work was already on the chalk boards, with teachers in front of each of the classes.
The minister said similar visits were being made at schools all across the country by the various education officers in their respective districts.
Minister Manickchand said the Diamond Primary School will be given a playfield and other amenities for the convenience of children in attendance. She acknowledged that the school was still under construction, but noted that that phase would eventually pass and the finished building would be comfortable for the nation’s children attending the institution to acquire their primary education.
The minister expressed disappointment at the state of the unfinished north-eastern wing of the school, which has not yet been outfitted with windows.
She said the contractor had informed the Education Ministry that a boat bringing the windows had been delayed and was unable to make the delivery on schedule. That circumstance,
she said, has set back the operations at the school; and when things like this happen, they affect mostly the children.
She said there will have to be tougher sanctions for the contractors, and the Education Ministry is already in the process of finding a new approach to doing business with contractors hired by the Ministry of Education.
Deputy Head Teacher, Wendy Chichester, who is currently acting as head teacher in absence of her superior who is away on leave, spoke with the media yesterday in the presence of the Minister of Education. She said how pleased she was that the school would go down in history as the first to be opened by its deputy head teacher; and added that the teachers, including herself, are happy to be in a position to ensure the children are able to achieve their potential with a quality education.
She promised that teachers would strive together to make the school one of the most child-friendly schools on the East Bank of Demerara, and by extension the country. Ms. Chichester said that, up to assembly time yesterday, the school had about four hundred children who turned out for classes. She said that others have been identified to attend the school, but have to await their transfer papers from the various schools they had attended.
Apart from classrooms, the school has a library, a kitchen, and a rest room; and the deputy head invited the business community and other kind-hearted persons to make donations to the school’s library.
Following that visit to the Diamond Primary School, the minister made a stop at the Diamond Secondary School, where she interacted with the staff, and also those students, who were attending the school for the first time.
The minister encouraged students to make the best of their learning opportunity, cautioning them about the importance of taking their education seriously.
She noted that the Diamond Secondary School was built to achieve universal secondary education, and was developed to accommodate the students who did not gain passes at the then common entrance examinations, now known as the National Grade Six Assessment.
Prior to the Diamond Secondary School being built, students were accommodated in primary schools that had upper levels.
Head teacher of the school said that enrollment and first day experience was not a hassle, since the school facilitated an orientation session in which students had a chance to familiarise themselves with the environment.
She said that following the morning assembly, the students went directly to the classrooms ready to do the academic programme.
The Education Ministry last week announced that several schools were not going to reopen yesterday for classes, as critical works were not fully completed there. Those schools will be reopened next week Monday, September 10.
Today, the nation’s children return to school. But from reports in the press, it appears that a significant number will have to stay out for another week or two.
While most of these children would probably not mind an extension of their vacation, apart from the One Mile Primary School in Wismar, there is no excuse for this curtailment of the “Christmas Term”. Will the Ministry of Education (MoE) make provisions to make up for the time lost in teaching the curricula?
Traditionally, September has been designated “Education Month” by the MoE and by today a series of activities, under a named theme, would have been announced. We hope that the delay has been occasioned by a decision of the Minister to have her department tackle the abysmal results of the last CSEC exams ‘frontally”. They might have to recalibrate their interventions.
While not as bad as Guyana’s, the results in the region as a whole were shocking enough to precipitate calls for reform in most territories. CXC has also promised to collaborate with the various governments on remedial diagnostics of their pedagogical principles.
One suggestion that they have already made is that we must move on from the ‘chalk and talk’ methodology that has been in place since the abolition of slavery. The Information Technology tools are now ubiquitous in our society and the Ministry has to use them more effectively for imparting the curricula to its charges.
It is rather ironic that over the past decade there have been numerous outside interventions to introduce computers, for instance, into our school system, starting from the primary level. But in almost all instances, the donated equipment were utilized more in the breach than not.
The government itself recognised the need for schools to be plugged into the ICT world and brought in a new US$30 fibre-optic cable from Brazil, which, among other functions such as e-government, would have accomplished this goal. Since the last elections, however, there has been a studied silence on the status of the fibre-optic cable and the benefits the country should have received.
As we begin this “Education Month”, we hope that the Ministry has taken note of the caution sounded by the Registrar and CEO of CXC on the Pilot School program that was introduced last December to improve our flagging results in CSEC.
This program was basically an intensification of the ‘teach to the test’ methodology that comes straight of the drilling and rote learning route we were handed almost two hundred years ago. Students, given past exam papers, books and a calculator for Mathematics and English by the Ministry were drilled an extra two hours daily by teachers.
The question is whether these students actually came away from these drills with any substantive knowledge of the subjects that would make them move on to perform effectively at the tertiary level or in a working environment. We doubt it. We have to be careful of ‘quick fixes”. There is great wisdom in the folk saying, “rain can’t full wha dew na full”. Any remedial intervention must be conceptualised and executed in a holistic manner.
We have to use the new technology from the nursery level to present that materials in our curricula in a manner that would make the children want to learn.
The electronic media is ideally suited for bringing to life abstract subjects such as mathematics. A couple of years ago there was a buzz about a low-cost science kit sponsored by UNESCO that was ideal for bringing home the concepts of the basic sciences. This initiative seems to have died on the vine.
But behind it all, teachers will have to be trained in the new methodology and the school administration will have to get behind the program.
The assessment tests that are now being given from Grade 2 must be modified to incorporate the new technology both in the substantive and procedural aspects.
Most importantly, the results of the assessments must be utilised for the purpose intended: to have the teacher intervene more directly in remedial action.
BETTERING education delivery has been one of the focal areas of the PPP/C Government, in recognition of the fact that an educated populace is key to the development of a nation.
Its investments to date have realised tremendous benefits, as the country’s performance at the primary and secondary levels has grown over the years.
But this has not always been the case, as successes were only evident in city schools mostly, and which, each year took the cream of the results. Recognising this, greater attention has been paid to equality among all schools.
This realisation has, in recent times, allowed schools outside of Georgetown to have better access to quality education through the delivery of teaching aids, text books, and teacher training to effectively administer the school’s curriculum.
The construction of modern institutions and the development of the Education Strategic Plan (2008/2013), which was crafted to identify priority policies and strategies, have been aspects pursued.
Since the initiation of the latter, the quality of output has significantly improved – as the increased provision in placement at the nursery level especially in remote regions, improvements in pre-literacy skills, and greater performance at CAPE and CXC, were evident in learning institutions throughout the 10 administrative regions.
Schools throughout the length and breadth of Guyana are now producing top performers, even as the ministry continues to strengthen its partnership with stakeholders, particularly parent/teacher associations and other community social groups.
Last year, the top CSEC performers each gained 15 Grade Ones. These came from Anurada Dev of Queen’s College, Georgetown, and Shalita Appadu of New Amsterdam Multilateral, Region Six.
This success was also observed in the Mining Town of Linden, with Zainab Abdul Karim of Mackenzie High and Seriena Alli of Abrams Zuil Secondary, each achieved 13 Grade Ones.
Students of Anna Regina, Abrams Zuil, and Cotton Field Secondary, Region 2; West Demerara, Patentia, Zeeburg and Essequibo Islands secondary schools, Region 3; Bush Lot, Rosignol and Bygeval Secondary Schools, Region 5; Tagore Memorial, Skeldon Line Path and J C Chandisingh, Region 6; and St. Ignatius Secondary, Region 9 were also among top scorers at the 2011 exams.
Ninety-seven of the 188 students who secured Grade One passes in eight or more subjects are from Region 4, followed by Region 6, with 32; Region 2, with 23; and Region 3, with 20.
This year, Sarah Hack of Abrams Zuil copped 16 Grade Ones and there were also several other regional top performers: Bibi Ameena Nazaralie of Saraswati Vidya Nikitan, and Keikel Mahabir of West Demerara Secondary, with 13 Grade Ones each; Roschelle Sparman of Mackenzie High, and Vishwati Oudhram of Saraswati Vidya Nikitan, with 12 Grade Ones each.
At the National Grade Six Assessment in 2011, Terron Alleyne of Regma Primary, Region 10 copped the top spot. C.V. Nunes in Region 2; Leonora, Region Three; Novar, Region 5; and Cumberland, Region 6 were among the top performers.
Sixteen-year-old Sarah Hack, from Abrams Zuil Secondary School on the Essequibo Coast, Region 2, who copped 16 Grades Ones, accredits her success to God and the support of family, friends and teachers.
“My faith and trust in God was very enduring. My success was a really taxing journey overall, with many sleepless nights while studying, but it was well worth it,” she said.
Asked about the work of the school, she pointed out that everyone, including teachers, were disciplined, hard workers, even pushy at times, but it was all for the best.
Over the last three years, Abrams Zuil Secondary has been gaining significant attention for its performances, despite being a little school located on the Essequibo coast. In 2011, the school also secured the first and second top spots for the Region in the CSEC examinations.
The top performer, who will be heading off to College in the United States, come 2013, lauded the teachers in the school system, pointing out that the quality of teaching has improved exponentially.
The school was named after the village.
Spending
Education spending, as a percentage of the National Budget, has risen from 4.4 percent in 1990, to an average of 15 percent over the last seven years. The $24.3B allocation in 2011 was spent on construction and rehabilitation of schools, equipping ICT labs and acquiring of text books. The 2012 allocation is $26.6B.
More than $85.6M was approved by government for the procurement of CXC text books, self-study guides for CXC, revision DVDs, model solutions to difficult answers, geometry sets, graph papers and calculators, which were distributed as part of a pilot project implemented in underperforming schools.
This year’s results showed that this project did bring about improvements in the CSEC results.
The reconstruction of the One Mile Primary School at Linden is likely to take more than a year, Education Minister Priya Manickchand announced yesterday, while assuring that none of the students displaced by the situation would be disadvantaged.
Manickchand was at the time addressing parents, teachers and concerned residents of Linden who crammed into the auditorium of the Wismar Hill Primary School, during a visit by the minister and senior officers of the Education Ministry and the region for an update on the school.
Although Manickchand emphasised that the current priority is accommodating the 830 students displaced as a result of the torching of the school building, her news did not sit well with parents and others who were adamant about the need to rebuild. On Sunday, hundreds of residents started clearing away the rubble and began stockpiling sand at the site for the reconstruction of the school.
There is no budget yet for the reconstruction and not much thought has gone into it, Manickchand said, adding that ensuring that all the One Mile Primary students are placed has been the focus.
“I don’t mean to be disrespectful or to sound rude but I haven’t heard any mention of when this government intends to start to work on rebuilding this school, we need to know that now,” said a female parent.
In response, Manickchand said that the government is committed to building schools around the country and Linden is no exception, while adding that she had communicated the government’s commitment to the rebuilding process to the Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon. She, however, added that considering that it was just one week ago that the school was destroyed, the budget for placement of the students in a classroom by the September 3rd, 2012 start of the new academic year has taken priority above the reconstruction. She added that with the decision to accommodate the grades one and two-level students at the One Mile Nursery building, there are costs for putting a number of things in place, including construction of a water trestle, among other things.
“I can tell you that from the Ministry of Education, we are absolutely determined that, as far as we can make it happen because we have limitations with resources and so on, those children who are going to the One Mile Primary School will not be disadvantaged in any way,” she assured.
“Hear nah Minister, Hear nah we building back we school,” shouted a parent in response.
Central role
He added that a quantity surveyor and a structural engineer have been contacted and are expected to do the assessments with regards to establishing the condition of the foundation and the beams of the structure. “So, like I say, it’s gonna be a very involved process, where the community and the government will play their role in the rebuilding,” he said.Later, Solomon said that with the placement of the students covered, the rebuilding of the school would be priority, with the community playing a very central role. Asked to be specific about the community’s involvement, including whether it will be responsible for the construction of the physical structure or any other aspect of the rebuilding process, Solomon re-emphasised that the community’s role will be one of maximum involvement.
By last week Sunday afternoon, the regional education officials had put together a draft plan for students to be accommodated during the new academic year and for the period that the school building would be under construction. The plan, which was proposed to parents, included the enrollment of the new Grade One intake for the 2012 to 2013 academic year.
Manickchand and Pastor Selwyn Sills, Chairman of the Regional Parent-Teachers Association (RPTA) said that by yesterday afternoon, they were expecting a word from the pastor and board of the nearby Faith Assembly of God Church on use of the church building, thereby eliminating the need for a double shift system. Efforts to contact Sills yesterday afternoon to determine the response of the Church proved futile.But the proposal for the 150 Grade One and Grade Two-level students to be placed at the One Mile Nursery School’s new extension, which was constructed because of the growth in the nursery-level student population, using a double-shift system did not go down very well with parents and even some teachers. Under the proposed shift system, Grade One students would attend the first shift, from 7:30hrs to 11:30hrs and the Grade Two students would attend from 12:00hrs to 16:00hrs.
Given the opportunity to share their views, few residents came forward, but many voiced their concern loudly. Persons who took to the microphone said they were concerned that the nursery school was not adequate while others were not too keen on the shift system. “Remember, we are not at home,” Wismar Hill Primary’s head teacher Joy Webb, however, reminded.
Loud applause
The 421 students in grades Three to Five, meanwhile, are to be housed at the Wismar Hill Primary School, where the auditorium and two classrooms were made available. There was both loud applause and a few concerns about the arrangement but Webb put fears to rest by providing a floor map of how the classrooms would be laid out.
It was also suggested that the St. Aidan’s Primary School, which has sufficient space, be used to accommodate some students. This proposal did not get much support from parents, who were concerned about the location of the school and the distance their children would have to trek daily to get there. St. Aidan’s Primary is located at Blue Berry Hill, an area where there is no public transportation except for taxis.
Unlike the other levels, the proposal for the placement of the Grade Six students, who would be accommodated at the Block 22 Multi-Purpose Hall, was unanimously accepted. “The members of the Block 22 Community have willingly offered to make the Block 22 Multi-Purpose Hall available. This initiative is welcome, since a large group of pupils for that grade reside in Block 22 and its immediate environs,” Manickchand said.
The minister also informed residents that much work is being put into furnishings and work materials, including lessons plans and scheme of works for teachers, are in place for the new school year.
Following the meeting, Manickchand and her team went on a visit of the site of the torched school building and found that a number of residents were out again yesterday continuing the clearing exercise. She had a separate meeting with the teachers of the One Mile School also, while Sills had called for a meeting of the school’s PTA executives.
-agreement sealed on placement for One-Mile Primary students for September 3 school opening
EDUCATION Minister, Priya Manickchand yesterday paid a visit to Linden in Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) where she met with education stakeholders, parents and other concerned residents of the community at the Wismar Hill Primary School, as they enjoyed a fruitful interaction on the placements and other issues in relation to the children of One-Mile Primary School that was gutted by fire two Sundays ago. The meeting attracted about 400 people and the minister was accompanied by senior educational officials from Georgetown who met their counterparts from the Regional Education Office.
Ms. Manickchand made it clear that the Government of Guyana is committed to rebuilding the infrastructure that was damaged in the community including the One-Mile Primary School. She however told those gathered that the main focus of the Education Ministry and by extension the Government of Guyana is the placing of all 847 students from the burnt out school into classes on the first day of school which is just two weeks from now.
She said that the residents had to choose if they were going to allow the situation to damage their children or rise up and ensure that they work to prevent any of the children who attended the school not to be disadvantaged by the unfortunate situation.
She said her visit was to put to them the arrangements that have been floating around between her, and education officials from the ministry and the region.
The Education Minister added that the parents and teachers had a right to say what they were comfortable with and what needs to be adjusted.
They were however cautioned that while the aim of the ministry is to ensure that there is comfort for the children come September 3 and beyond, it must not be forgotten that there will be some amount of discomfort and uneasiness because of the arrangements. It was with that, that the minister asked the parents and teachers to be reasonable in their bargaining and requests.
She said that it was important for the residents to look forward and develop the best plan for the children of the community especially those of the burnt out school, she called for all to be involved and at every level.
In pointing out the importance of finding places for the children to start school on 3 September, the Education Minister reminded parents that the only way their children will have a better life and opportunities that were not available to their parents is through having an education and their chances for that opportunity must not be damaged the minister added.
She said that placements for the students was of utmost importance at this time for two reasons, she mentioned the limited time that remains available for the educators and teachers to agree on everything since school reopens on the 03 of September. The other reason she give was the fact that a school was destroyed and it will take a while before there is some amount of normalcy that will start to flow as children and teachers will have to adjust to new conditions under which they will have to operate.
Last week the Ministry of Education and the Regional Education Department of Region Ten were in much discussion and planning on how, where and by when they will be able to place children in time for the reopening of school. The discussions also involved the Regional Chairman and the region’s Member of Parliament all of whom seemed to have a vested interest in ensuring that all students of the region especially the Linden community was ready for school when it reopens.
It was announced that based on the discussion between the officials of the education ministry and regional education authorities in Linden several students from several grades will be strategically place come September 03.
A total of one hundred and fifty students representing six grade one classes will be placed at the One-Mile Nursery School new extension. That extension is located in the compound of the burnt out school which also had a nursery school. It was related that the location that the students will be occupying was initially built because the department of education expected an increase in the number of nursery students from the new school term.
The Grade two students will also be occupying the very building. The grade two has a total of five classes and account for a total of one hundred and thirty five children. It was related to the parents that the new arrangement will force the department to facilitate a double session with the younger one in grade one showing up for school in the morning at 7.30 to 11.30 while the older one in grade two will show up for classes in the afternoon from 12 to 4 pm.
The arrangement was well received by the parents and teachers but not before the clearing up of some misconceptions. The minister made it clear to the parents that while the arrangement of a double session was not a preference it was the best that could have been done at time.
The minister told the parents that she is aware that they will be wondering what their children will be doing for the period that they will be home which will account for almost an entire half day. She added that she is also aware that the double sessions will take away from the instruction time in the class rooms since students and teachers will be spending less time together.
It was there that the parents were told that the Education Department in the region along with the Ministry of Education were trying to secure the service of a church that had a building which could be used for hosting some of the classes. It was announced that should the church be in a position to accommodate the students then the double sessions will not be necessary since with the church and several other buildings that will be made available, students will be able to attend school for entire five hours as is customary.
The Wismar Hill Primary School where the meeting was held will be accommodating grades three, four and five which represent twelve classes and a student population of four hundred and twenty one. This school was made available the very afternoon of the morning that the Wismar One- Mile Primary school was gutted. The students will occupy the auditorium of the school as well as two other classes.
Meanwhile grade six students will be housed at the Block 22 Community Multi- purpose Centre. The grade six comprises of four classes and represents a student population of one hundred and forty two students. The grade six students will not be having a double session and are going to be housed in a building alone. That move is being commended since those children will be preparing to write the National Grade Six Assessment examination next year and placing them in an environment that sees them having less classroom time among other things would not have been helpful to them at the examination, one resident said.
Parents and teachers were given the opportunity to respond to the arrangements and all were well received. Some even asked about transportation for their children from the long distances to the school that they were placed and that was given a thought and will be finalised soon, as one resident has already indicated that she was willing to have her minibus available at cost once the PTA or the department of education secure a driver.
The students though they will be accommodated at other schools will not have to have a change of uniform the ministry confirmed. With the exception of the Wismar Hill Primary School, all other schools and facilities which will accommodate the displaced students are situated in close proximity to where the One-Mile Primary School stood.
At some of the facilities there will be additional sanitary blocks that will be included while better security and securing of other buildings are on the cards for some of the other facilities and which will be worked out and finalized before school is opened on September 3.
Following the scheduled meeting at the Wismar Hill School, Ms. Manickchand met with teachers and later travelled to the burnt out site of the One-Mile Primary School. Other senior education officials also paid visits to other locations that children are expected to be placed come September 03, 2012.
Minister of Education Priya Manickchand along with senior officials of the Ministry of Education and regional officials yesterday met with teachers and parents of One Mile Primary School in Wismar, to recommend and discuss alternative accommodation arrangements for the students of that school who have been displaced, due to its recent destruction by fire.
Chairman of the proceedings, Pastor Selwyn Sills, in his opening remarks regarding the recent torching of the school, posited that what was set out to be a stumbling block, is instead going to be a
stepping stone.
Minister Manickchand said that she was ‘glad’ to be in Linden, though not glad about the reason for the visit. In her brief comments before outlining alternative ‘housing’ arrangements for the students, she declared that the children of One Mile Primary School “would not be disadvantaged, as the only way that children can have a future and better life, is through education”.
The first proposal put forward by the Minister was for the pupils of grade one, who number about 150, to be accommodated at the One Mile Nursery School extension block. It was further suggested that those pupils, attend classes from 7:30 to 11:30 am, while classes for those pupils in Grade two would be held from 12:00 hrs to 16:00hrs.
On the other hand it was proposed that the students of grades three, four and five, numbering some four hundred and twenty-one, be housed at Wismar Hill Primary, while the pupils of grade six should be accommodated at the Block 22 Community Centre.
Concern was raised by one parent, about the capacity of the extension block of the One Mile Nursery school, to house the grades one and two students, even on a shift system. It was then suggested by another parent that the entire school could be occupied by the One Mile Primary pupils after the Nursery School pupils are dismissed at 12:00 hrs.
That suggestion found favour with most of the teachers and parents.
It was also proposed that St Aidan’s Primary School be used as another venue to house the displaced students, but this proposal was rejected outright.
Meanwhile, concerns about the capacity of the Wismar Hill Primary to house grades three, four and five were raised.
The Headmistress of One Mile Primary, Stephanie St Claire, while voicing concerns about the pupils of her school being housed in separate locations, where they would not be under her watch, acknowledged that some amount of discomfort has to be endured now, for betterment later.
St Claire in her closing remarks quipped, ‘’remember, we are not at home!”
Pastor Sills, meanwhile, encouraged the gathering of concerned parents and teachers that they should consider the options that were outlined, and anything that they would have agreed to they should not ‘renege’ on later on.
Sills also suggested the setting up of a few pre-fabricated buildings, to house the students.
As it relates to using St Aidan’s Primary as one of the alternative venues, it was suggested by a teacher that school buses could be used to transport the children, as many parents complained about the distance to the school, and the desolate areas that their children would have to ‘navigate’ to get to the institution. The issue of parents not being able to afford taxis to transport their children to and from the school was also highlighted.
On the question of Government’s contribution towards the rebuilding of One Mile Primary, Minister Manickchand said that there had not yet been talks in this regard, but that she was going to pursue the topic.
Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon, who was also present, pointed out that it was important that the presently displaced students “do not miss one day” of their education.
“We may not have the ideal conditions and situation that we look forward to, but at the end of the day, the onus is on us to work collectively to provide the opportunities for these children,” he emphasised.
Solomon described the meeting as part of a consultative process, as what is most important is for the parents, teachers and participants to sit, discuss and have an understanding of what is being provided for the children.
He added that the only area that was not finalized was “having the acknowledgement of the church” which was expected to be done later yesterday.
A confirmation from the church, concerning usage of the building, would minimize or eliminate the need for double sessions, Solomon pointed out.