Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand on Monday contended that it may be important for schools to monitor the use of smartphones during school hours.

Manickchand believes this will reduce distractors and encourage students to be more productive.

And she revealed that if schools chose to implement rules to limit the use of smartphones, the ministry would support those rules.

According to the minister, the Swami Vidya Niketan, a private school in Region Three, already has this rule implemented.

“We coming with that and the children and the parent gonna quarrel but we coming and it is for a reason, it is a lot of distraction,” Manickchand said.

She added: “You [parents] and I as adults know you can be scrolling and watching sheer stupidness and every scroll is a video. And when you check your time, you just finished an hour scrolling and doing stupidness instead of being outside in the sunshine or watching something sensible or doing something sensible.”

Manickchand later clarified that she does not suggest that there should be a ban on smartphones. Instead, she said schools will be given the autonomy to decide how they manage the use of smartphones.

“… once you have internet and access how children utilise that, it is in their own interest and so if this school decide that we are not going to allow the usage of cellphone during school hours then that is something we will support and schools across the country are going to be given the autonomy to determine how they want their schools to run in certain ways and for certain issues,” Manickchand explained.

But once the rule/s to limit the use of smartphones are implemented there will be no change.

“If we say no devices during school hours because the school is connected to the internet which means your children could do all kinds of things that are frightening.

“If we say you will put the phone in your bag and you can look at it at 12 to see if your mother sent you anything, your mother has access to the school phone if she needs you and you can look at it at 3 [pm], if we say that is the rule, that is the rule,” Manickchand said.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2024/09/03/as-schools-embrace-technology-rules-to-limit-smartphone-use-would-be-supported-manickchand/

During a recent visit to Yupukari, Region Nine, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand told the community that along with the secondary school currently under construction, teachers would be trained from among high school graduates in the area. She also told them that seven more schools were to be added to the four that now exist in the region. This, she said, was just the beginning of government’s development in the area.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/11/25/news/guyana/more-development-coming-to-region-nine-manickchand/

Education Minister Priya Manickchand and the newly-assigned shadow Opposition Parliamentarian for Education, Coretta McDonald clashed on Monday over the need for new schools across Guyana.

The Parliamentarians spoke during the first day of the 2024 National Budget Debate in the National Assembly at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal, Georgetown.

Both women are keenly interested and involved with the education sector, with Manickchand at the helm of the ministry and McDonald serving as the General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU).

But a matter that saw heated debate between the two was the construction of new schools.

At least seven new schools were built by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) government since returning to office in 2020. On the other hand, Manickchand previously noted that no school was started and completed by the APNU AFC coalition while in government from 2015 to 2020.

Some $28.7 billion has been set aside in this year’s budget for the construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of schools across the country.

According to McDonald, the former APNU- AFC administration did not spend money on new schools because there weren’t as many fires as there are now. She accused the government of playing some part in the destruction of schools so that new contracts can be distributed.

Manickchand, however, rejected these comments.

She posited that it was disrespectful for McDonald to make such comments, knowing that there are children across the country who are not comfortably accommodated in schools close to their homes.

But she said regardless of what the opposition says, the government is unapologetic about investing heavy sums for the construction of new schools.

“Every child in this country will be able to access education under the PPP/C government.

“… In addition to building schools and training teachers, we are going to change quality,” she said.

Manickchand also said that this year’s $135.2 billion allocation for the education sector this year will also cater for meals to learners, textbooks and grants to schools.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2024/01/22/budget-debates-manickchand-mcdonald-clash-over-need-for-new-schools/

The Ministry of Education is currently conducting a survey to ascertain which schools in the hinterland regions still use pit latrines with the aim of having them transition to flush toilets, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand said yesterday.

According to sources, pit latrines can be found at schools in the Upper Mazaruni, the Pakaraimas and Chinese Landing.

Manickchand, in an interview with Stabroek News, noted that the education system has been decentralised and as such schools are managed by the regional governance system. The ministry has however asked for information about all schools that have pit latrines.

“The central ministry has asked for all schools that have pit latrines. What we are doing right now is finding out how many schools, if any at all, are using pit latrines and then we will have to look at conditions that exist and that are being required for them to transition to flush toilets.”

Efforts by Stabroek News to contact Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Sonia Parag for a comment were unsuccessful. 

The issue was highlighted by Alliance For Change (AFC) leader, Nigel Hughes, when he told a gathering at Linden on August 17, that party members were shocked when they saw the pit latrines being used and even more appalled to learn that children of kindergarten age had to use them.

Hughes said that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had made recommendations to help eliminate this practice by volunteering grants for flushable toilets and running water and as such, questioned why the government had not taken up the offer. He further stated that residents have lamented that given the number of students using the facilities daily, the latrines fill up quickly and require moving “further and further away from the school.” Currently, he noted, residents were bemoaning the fact that they are running out of space and would have to go even further.

“The annual budgetary allocation to Phillipai [a village in the Upper Mazaruni, Region Seven] is $2 million for a community of about 2,000 persons. They are not children of a lesser God; they are equally entitled to an equitable share of the national patrimony. This is egregious!” he added.

The Education Minister then pointed out that money was approved to build a sanitary block for the school in June. She juxtaposed Hughes’ post with that of from Tamika Beharry, who stated that she is a District Coordinator at the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. Beharry displayed a blueprint for a sanitary block she said had been planned for construction at the Phillipai Primary School.

Manickchand also explained to this newspaper that Phillipai has flush toilets but the children are unable to use them because they don’t have water.

“Phillipai has flush toilets but the kids don’t use them because they don’t have water.”

In 2008, nine-year-old Tenesha De Souza, a student of Santa Rosa Primary School at Moruca, had fallen into a pit latrine and died on her first day of school. The then PPP/C government had said that it would initiate plans to assess how many other schools were still using latrines.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/08/28/news/guyana/education-ministry-surveying-how-many-schools-still-have-pit-latrines/

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand yesterday visited three Demerara communities to deliver supplies following a promise by President Irfaan Ali.

She was accompanied by Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister,  Kwame McCoy and other local officials.

The Ministers’ visit focused on enhancing educational resources and addressing the unique challenges faced by remote communities. The recipient schools included Low Wood Primary School, Susannah’s Rust Nursery and Primary School, and Dora Primary School, each of which received support, a release from the ministry said yesterday .

Low Wood, with approximately 120 residents, has  20 children and 3 teachers. Susannah’s Rust, comprising roughly 120 residents across 40 households, received support for its 22 students and 4 teachers. In Dora, an approximately 40-family community has 18 students and 4 teachers.

The release said that Manickchand engaged educators in  dialogue, exploring strategies to enhance educational delivery tailored to the unique needs of remote areas.

Contributions, including life jackets, laptops, printers, fans, filing cabinets, and water dispensers, were made to the communities.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2024/06/01/news/guyana/education-minister-delivers-supplies-to-demerara-communities/

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand on Wednesday announced that distribution of the “Because We Care” cash grant to children from public and private schools will commence on Monday, June 24.

Manickchand, speaking during a LIVE on her Facebook page, said the distribution process will run for two weeks across the country’s ten administrative regions.

Every eligible child will receive $45,000.

“This is a grant for public and private school children who are in school,” Manickchand said.

To receive the grant, a child is required to be on the school’s register and be attending classes. Students, where necessary, are required to return text books. To facilitate distribution, Manickchand explained that teachers are asked to supply the names of the children on their registers.

The Regional Education Departments are then asked to verify that the information provided is accurate.

The Ministry of Education also undertakes their own verification process.

“It’s very smooth, it’s very transparent, it’s very open and every child who is entitled will benefit,” Manickchand said.

The venue and time for distribution will be advertised.

To uplift the grant, parents are required to walk with any form of identification.

The acceptable forms of identification are the National Identification Card, Driver’s License or Passport.

Persons who do not possess any of these documents can still uplift the grant but their relationship with the child must be confirmed by a senior official in the community or the school’s Headteacher.

“This is really easy. Just come get your grant so that you can get your children ready for September,” Manickchand said.

The Government of Guyana has committed to increasing the Because We Care Cash Grant incrementally each year until it reaches $50,000.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2024/06/19/distribution-of-because-we-care-cash-grant-to-begin-next-monday-manickchand/

Education Minister Priya Manickchand has regarded as unacceptable and unreasonable a request by the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) for an interim 20 per cent across-the-board payment to be made to all teachers before it calls off the ongoing strike and engages in conciliation talks with education officials.

Though surprising, the Minister likened the request which was made on Tuesday to putting a gun to an employer’s head but rejected the tactics she said were designed and intended to derail the process.

“Nowhere in the world would anyone allow a gun to be held to an employer’s head before that [conciliation] process [commences],” the Education Minister said.

Notwithstanding, Manickchand, who spoke at a press conference on Wednesday, said the GTU still has time to ensure that the well-intended process is successful but noted that education officials will not engage under duress.

“No where in the world negotiations are held under duress. A 20 per cent payment before any talks is duress… This is unacceptable and unreasonable and will result in a breakdown of the talks.

“It is clear the teacher’s welfare is not paramount for the union” Manickchand said as she insisted that the union’s actions were part of a larger political scheme to keep teachers out of the classroom.

That disruption, she reasoned, was leading to learning losses for students.

In fact, Manickchand said the union’s decision to publicise the details of the discussions over the last two days was in breach of an oral agreement that urges confidentiality to ensure trust.

So, the Minister sought to set the record straight.

While there was still some impasse on the years for collective bargaining, Manickchand said significant progress was made on Monday with both sides compromising.

For instance, the Education Minister said the government wanted resumption of work within 24 hours while the union insisted on 72 hours. So a compromise was reached for 48 hours.

Though the government believes that the salaries of striking teachers should be deducted, it agreed not to make any teacher suffer for their participation.

The contentious issues at the end of Monday were the timeframe for the conciliation talks and a request by the union for the terms of the agreement to be subject to proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction.

The two sides had hoped that the two issues would be finalised on Tuesday.

“We were at a place where everyone was comfortable to sign the agreement, we were just working out what words to use and everyone was very, very reasonable,” Manickchand said.

But the surprise came on Tuesday when the union requested the 20 per cent payout and demanded the recusal of the Minister of Labour, Joseph Hamilton, from the negotiations process.

“We were prepared to give a lot and as soon as the union saw us reaching a place where this could happen… They whipped out a document and put it on the table to ensure it can’t happen.

“They know fully well we can’t pay this 20 percent tip or hold on to teachers,” Manickchand reasoned.

To this end, she concluded that the union seemed to have no interest in engaging in conciliation to resolve the issues as is provided in the decades-old grievance agreement.

As per that same 1990 agreement, Manickchand said the union is wrong if they think they can make conciliation fail and jump to arbitration.

“There is still space for the union to return to the table on Monday as agreed and come back to a reasonable space,” Manickchand said as she left the door open for continued talks.

Even though the planned meeting on Monday between the two sides at the Ministry of Labour is in limbo, Manickchand used the press conference to outline over 40 interventions made for teachers since 2020 which included adjustments to salaries and allowances.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2024/05/15/gun-to-head-manickchand-surprised-at-gtus-unreasonable-20-pay-request/

The reconstruction of the North West Secondary School, Mabaruma, Region One, will soon commence following the signing of the contract to rebuild.

The contract was awarded to Aruca Investments; the project is scheduled to be completed in fourteen months with a contract cost of $346.2 million. The project consultant is Innovative Engineering Services.

During brief remarks at the signing ceremony in the Ministry of Education’s Boardroom on Friday, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand expressed that the quality of work executed on the project will greatly impact the lives of students.

As such, she called on the contractor to deliver quality service and complete the project in the agreed time.

She said that since the school was destroyed by fire, the students and teachers have been tremendously inconvenienced. Minister Manickchand told the contractors and consultant that the completion of the school is not like any other project they have worked on.

She explained that the way they approach this project in terms of quality and time taken to complete it can change many lives by ensuring children receive a proper education.

Moreover, Minister Manickchand said that education delivery in Region One will see further development with new schools scheduled to be built at Waramuri, Hosororo and Kwebana over the next few years.

Giving a brief overview of the project, Special Projects Officer, Mr Ron Eastman said after extensive consultations, a design was approved for the new building.

The reconstructed North West Secondary School will be a two-story building with 23 classrooms, three science labs, a sanitary block and an accessible lift.

On September 25, 2021, the North West Secondary School, was destroyed by fire. The Ministry of Education has provided support and made alternative arrangements to facilitate the students enrolled at the secondary school until it is rebuilt. (Modified press release from Ministry of Education)

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2023/01/06/346-2m-contract-inked-for-north-west-secondary/

More than 300 pupils will be accommodated at the new Victoria Lily Primary School at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo.

The new 9,000 square feet school boasts 12 classes, an auditorium, a kitchenette and a sanitary block. The school also caters to pupils with Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

The facility was commissioned on Tuesday by President Dr. Irfaan Ali.

And the President boasted, “Everything you see here, the infrastructure, drains, etc, is for a cost of less than $200 million.”

He also noted that the school was built in record time, owed to round-the-clock work of contractors and representatives of both the Housing and Education Ministries. This was necessary because the growing population of the area demanded a new school.

Similarly, new schools will be built in other parts of the region. Dr. Ali said a massive facility will be constructed at Crane to accommodate 1,000 students; another will be built at Nismes for 600 students.

“These are all new housing areas,” the President pointed out, noting that housing development is creating demand for other services.

Meanwhile, at Tuschen, the President also announced that a recreational park is being built to complement the new school. This adds to the nearly $4 billion in investment made in the communities of Zeelugt and Tuschen, Dr. Ali said.

President Ali, however, noted that his government is not only keen on building new facilities but also on ensuring that schools are managed better. As such, resources are being directly disbursed to schools.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2023/09/06/over-300-pupils-to-benefit-from-new-primary-school-at-tuschen/

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand yesterday met with parents of students attending the New Campbellville Secondary School to discuss improving the state of affairs at the school for students and teachers. A release from the ministry said that Manickchand was joined by Executive Director of the National Accreditation Council, Dr. Marcel Hutson; Principal Education Officer, Immanuel Bridgewater, Assistant Chief Education Officer (Exams), Ameer Ali and other Education Officers within the Ministry. There have been several incidents of violence between students of the school. This Ministry of Education photo shows parents at the meeting.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2023/10/12/photos/minister-meets-with-parents-of-new-campbellville-secondary-students/