Guyanese that have completed courses in various fields on the Coursera platform have collectively been awarded 11, 571 certificates. This is the data as of October 15, 2020.

On September 5, 2020, Guyana through the Ministry of Education launched its leg of the Workforce Recovery Initiative program made possible through collaboration between the Commonwealth of Learning and Coursera.

The Workforce Recovery Initiative is a response to the employment difficulties which have arisen due to the current pandemic. It gives persons the opportunity to gain new knowledge and enhance their current capacity with certification from globally recognized Universities.

The Minister of Education Priya Manickchand expressed deep pleasure at the level of interest shown and said this tells us how hungry our people were for these opportunities. The Minister said her party had promised 20,000 online scholarships and that program will be formally launched soon but clearly, “ we will surpass that number.”

Guyanese who have not registered are reminded that the deadline for registration is October 31, 2020. Registration can be done at www.education.gov.gy/upskill

Persons who have registered but haven’t completed a course, have until December 31st, 2020 to do so. (Ministry of Education Press Release)

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2020/10/18/over-11000-guyanese-complete-coursera-online-courses/

Education Minister Priya Manickchand has denied claims made in two WhatsApp voice notes that the Government will be cutting salaries paid to teachers and janitorial staff.

In a post on Facebook, Manickchand said: “We value our teachers and cherish the cleaners who keep our teachers and children in clean environments.”

She said the voice notes repeat views put forward by former Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence and Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) during the election campaign.

“I invite you to ignore and rubbish it. The PPP/C Government remains committed to delivering education equitably in safe spaces and to ensuring our teachers are adequately compensated,” Manickchand stated.

Source: https://caribbean.loopnews.com/content/guyanese-education-minister-denies-plans-afoot-cut-salaries

The Government of Guyana has given the green light for the Ministry of Education to reopen schools under strict COVID-19 guidelines as it moved the curfew to 10:30 pm to 4 am.

“Schools may be re-opened by the Ministry of Education subject to compliance with the measures under this Notice and the Ministry of Education may issue guidelines or give any instruction to minimize the risks of Coronavirus transmission in schools,” the revised order published in the official Gazette Friday stated.

Education Minister of Education Priya Manickchand has over the past week been engaging teachers, parents and guardians across the country to prepare for the reopening of schools.

The Ministry, in a recent release, stated that Grades 10 and 11 students will be returning to school first as they have to prepare to write the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) next year.

So far, Guyana has confirmed 4,143 COVID-19 cases with 124 deaths. Fatalities in the month of October are at 42 thus far, surpassing September which was deemed the deadliest month since Guyana confirmed its first case on March 11.

Meanwhile, the Government has also approved new timings for the opening of banks and other financial institutions, gas stations, postal and shipping services, beauty salons and barber shops, automotive repair and maintenance facilities and clothes, shoes and book stores from 4:00am to 9:30pm.

Previously, the approved opening time for these businesses was at 4am to 8pm.

A ban remains on several social activities and indoor dining while gyms are now allowed to open at 50% capacity.

Rum shops and bars remain closed.

Outdoor dining along with drive through and curb side pickups are allowed until 09:30pm.

Further masks are mandatory when in public, travelling in a vehicle, vessel or aircraft.

These measures will remain in effect from November 1 to 30, 2020.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2020/10/30/new-covid-19-order-provides-for-reopening-of-schools/

The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has turned down requests to reduce the number of subjects to be written at the 2021 Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and has instead, decided to reduce the number of practical School Based Assessments (SBAs).

During an interview with the News Room, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand explained that the regional body has also declined to reduce the syllabus, noting that students who are writing the examinations in a pandemic need to be just as educated as persons who did so before COVID-19.

“CXC has taken a very firm decision that the syllabus is not going to be reduced in anyway –so they’re not going to say that we’re dropping these ten topics in any syllabus or a collection of them –that means that we have to be fully prepared,” the Minister said in defending the decision taken to reopen schools for CSEC and CAPE students in September 2020.

Instead, the regional body has opted to reduce the number of practical assignments per subjects.

“…there would be less practical work that has to be finished and there is a reason for that; SBAs should have started since April of this year and most countries in the region, who takes CXC have been out of school in April of this year, so they’re trying not to reduce the quality of work or not to interfere with the quality of certificate they issue, but at the same time, taking into consideration the reduced number of months,” Manickchand said.

CXC has changed the number of assignments for Physics, Biology and Chemistry from 16 to eight; those for Family and Resource Management reduced from 13 to six and those for Integrated Science reduced from 22 to eight.

The Education Ministry had requested that CXC offer all of its subjects in the January 2022 leg of the CSEC exams to give students the choice of writing the exams in June 2021 or January 2022.

However, this request was denied.

Schools across the country will be closing on December 18 for the Christmas holidays and will reopen on January 4, but not all students will return to the classrooms as was previously expected.

The Education Minister told the News Room in a recent interview that learning will resume in person for CSEC and CAPE students, while other students will continue their current mode of education.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2020/12/07/cxc-reduces-sbas-for-2021-csec-exams/

As part of the government’s efforts to boost the quality of secondary education nationwide, a spanking new $1 billion secondary school currently under construction in Region Three is set to be completed by the end of November.

A Ministry of Education release on Tuesday  stated that the $1 billion Westminster Secondary School is being constructed at La Parfaite Harmonie and is 84 per cent completed. It is being funded by the World Bank through the Guyana Secondary Education Improvement Project (GSEIP) which began during the first quarter of 2015.

The GSEIP project aims to improve the quality of secondary education across the country.

The contract for the construction of the school was inked on October 1, 2018, while construction began on October 18 of the same year with R Bassoo and Sons Construction Inc as the constructing company. The consulting firms are Deen + Partners and SRKN Engineering.

When completed, the structure will be a model school that meets international standards. The school will house 1,000 students and will cater for the growing population in Region Three with the emergence of a number of new housing schemes in the region. 

Education minister Priya Manickchand, accompanied by Project Coordinator of GSEIP, Jimmy Bhojedat; and Regional Education Officer (Region Three) Annesta Douglas, visited the site on Saturday for an update on the project’s progress   

The school was scheduled to be completed at the end of January of this year, however, a number of factors contributed to the project not meeting the initial deadline. During the site visit the minister was assured by the construction company that the new deadline of November 30 will be met.

Manickchand assured that she will be paying close attention to the project and is looking forward to the completion of the school for the benefit of the children it will serve.

The new school will see the reduction of secondary departments in primary schools (Primary Tops) in the region. Students will be drawn from La Grange, L’Aventure, Goed Fortuin and other areas within that catchment area.

Upon completion, the Westminster Secondary School will be outfitted with classrooms that cater for students with disabilities. There will be modern Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) departments for Home Economics, Home Management and Clothing and Textile. Added to the aforementioned departments, will be an Information Technology, Mathematics, Language, and Audio Visual laboratories in addition to Biology, Chemistry and Physics labs.

A Unit of Allied Arts, a modern library, a multi-purpose hall and a modern administration block will also be part the new education complex, the release added. 

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/10/08/news/guyana/new-1b-secondary-school-for-region-3-nearing-completion/

    

Over 2,000 children have not returned to school since its reopening on November 9, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, has revealed.

Manickchand, while delivering remarks on Saturday last at the ‘Celebration Day’ event hosted by the First Assembly of God Wortmanville Church, said there are many reasons for the children not returning to the classroom, including not having school uniforms and school supplies; not having transportation and money; fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that many have entered the workforce.

According to a press release from the ministry, Manickchand said that beginning this week, she will be engaging churches, temples and masjids and other religious bodies and organizations to help the state in determining where the students are and how they can be supported with completing their secondary education or accessing training in technical vocational education.

The Minister said the only other institutions in almost every community outside of schools are religious bodies, Toshaos and village councils and for this reason, the ministry will be engaging those bodies for assistance to make sure our children are not lost to education.

Schools in Guyana reopened on November 9 for students writing CSEC and CAPE next year.

While at the ‘Celebration Day’ activity, Minister Manickchand engaged members of the church and its clergy including Pastors Paul Benjamin, Dr. Wilbert Lee, Deacon Orson Smith, Chief Education Officer Rev. Dr. Marcel Hutson, Elder Angela Massiah and Bishop Dr. Murtland Raphael Massiah.

The event was held to honour the Church’s members who sat the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and other recent examinations at the University of Guyana and other tertiary institutions.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2020/12/01/over-2000-children-have-not-returned-to-school/

Government’s discussion with The University of the West Indies (UWI) to train at least 20,000 persons here is by no means bypassing UG but is aimed at providing online tertiary education for the many who lobbied for it, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand yesterday said.

“The University of Guyana (UG) was established by the founder of the People’s Progressive Party; that is Cheddi Jagan, it has been supported by the PPP through the years; PPP in office and out of office. The PPP has absolutely no desire to replace UG,” Manickchand told Stabroek News yesterday when contacted.

“In fact, it is the opposite, UG is going to be improved, it is going to be developed and added to. This is an addition to what exists right now and not an attempt to replace anything. Like I said, we are in touch with several different universities which can provide the training we are looking for and we can offer that to different groups,” she added.

She said that a statement from her ministry will be issued to clarify any mix- up on the matter and stressed that her government started the process out of the call from citizens countrywide who pleaded for online study options, as it offers a wide range of flexibility for them.

On Wednesday, UWI issued a statement saying that it is currently negotiating an agreement with the Government of Guyana to help to train up to 20,000 Guyanese over the next five years, through The UWI Open Campus.

The UWI statement informed that the university was invited by President Irfaan Ali, to help drive forward Guyana’s human resource development strategy. It said that on November 5th, UWI Vice Chancellor  Sir Hilary Beckles, held a virtual meeting with President Ali, in which they discussed a strategy for the country’s future described as “exciting, sustainable, and on the cutting edge of Caribbean governance.”

“This represents an opportunity not only to help build a fellow CARICOM nation’s capital infrastructure for economic, social and cultural development, but also to bring the University’s internationally recognized brand of excellence into the country”, UWI said.

No formal statement has been issued by the Guyana Government on this initiative.

Following the UWI statement, the University of Guyana on Friday issued one of its own saying that it had not renounced or transferred its responsibilities and since it was an external statement on the matter it would not take it as a national policy statement but as one of “grand intention”. 

UG’s release said that as the national brain trust, “supplying over 70% of graduates to Guyana and 30% exports”, it wished to assure that it is in preliminary talks on online education and scholarships.  

“The national University has not ceded its mandate and responsibilities and UG is now offering more than 1000 courses online as part of `The University of Guyana Blueprint 2040’ strategy framework”, the release said. 

UG added that it also routinely collaborates with over 100 regional and international institutions and recognises the scope for and benefits of a variety of higher education players in the national space. The University, therefore, continues to assist in ensuring these matters are approached “strategically, inclusively and synergistically”, the release stated.

Observers say that if the government wanted to have 20,000 persons trained then it should have had UG source these programmes and reimburse it for the costs rather than going directly to UWI and bypassing the institution of highest learning here.

Additional

Guyana’s Minister of Education assured that her government was in no way trying to replace UG with UWI or any other university but that it was seeking ways to bring additional online degree programmes to citizens here.

She explained that for many the desire is to attend university but personal circumstances do not permit them to attend school in person. She reasoned that having online university access is a way to tackle access to higher learning, which will in turn help the overall development of the country.

“Let us be clear, it is not to replace anything. It is to complement what exists and we intend to improve what exists. It is just …an addition to and it is supposed to be online. This is not ‘instead of UG’; this is ‘in addition to what UG offers’. UG does not have presently, and we expect that to change and are working to ensure that changes, courses which are fully online. Teaching online doesn’t mean you have a university online, so you have to bear that in mind,” she said.

The minister added, “During the various consultations countrywide, people said they want the opportunity and flexibility to train online, in addition to going to UG, because some people simply can’t go to full-time classes. Some people want to train and not leave their place of employment and so on. So you will see the University of Guyana attracting some attention in that manifesto. Two of the things was that the University of Guyana would be free (in terms of tuition) in five years and that there would be a pathway for those who owe presently”.

Government, according to the Minister of Education, is currently putting plans on stream to also offer online scholarships. “We are looking to offer 20k scholarships, at least, to 20k persons,” she said.

It is from that vision that discussions are being pursued, not only with UWI but with countries from across the globe.

“We said that we would complement the various pathways persons have to getting trained and educated at different places. At the University of Guyana there is technical vocational training and there are some other tertiary training centres like CPCE and so on. So we were very clear, that based upon what the population said to us, from across the nation, and prior to us crafting the manifesto, that we would put out opportunity for 20,000 Guyanese to become further trained, particularly online. That is what people had said they wanted. That is to complement whatever exists, and what exists will be boosted and buttressed by more resources and improved facilities,” she asserted.

“In pursuit of attempting to deliver that promise, we have been as a government in conversation with several different universities, all across the world, on how we can get this materialized. We have been talking to Indira Gandhi University, we are talking to UK, China, Nigeria, the UWI …and the University of Guyana about having online educational opportunities, that we would then offer to the people of this country. We are looking at different types of programmes, degrees, masters, PhDs …,” she added.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/11/23/news/guyana/plan-with-uwi-is-for-immediate-online-education-no-bypassing-of-ug-manickchand/

Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Friday said schools will not reopen for physical attendance of students next month and has advised that students remain academically engaged in whatever way possible as the Ministry develops safety protocols going forward.

Schools in Guyana have been closed since March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the way forward is unclear at this time as Guyana continues to see a rapid increase in the number of positive cases.

As of August 13, Guyana confirmed 631 cases of the deadly virus including 22 deaths.

The Education Minister, in a video statement released by the Department of Public Information (DPI), noted that “we cannot reopen schools on September 7, 2020, as was previously scheduled. All schools should remain closed to face-to-face teaching for the month of September while we continue to review and evaluate the evolution of the disease (COVID-19) and our schools’ readiness.”

Manickchand noted that little or no action was taken since schools closed in March to prepare the facilities, students, parents or teachers to reopen during a pandemic.

Following consultations with various stakeholders over the past week, the Ministry of Education was told of the fears of “premature school leaving and dropouts,” as well as the need to protect students and teachers from COVID-19.

“We must keep our teachers, children and family safe,” Manickchand noted.

She said the Ministry is working along with the Ministry of Health to “urgently develop a safety protocol for schools across the country and we’re actively and dedicatedly pursuing getting our schools physically ready.”

Online Learning

However, she said the closure of schools does not affect the ability for online learning.

Cognizant that one approach will not cater to students across the regions, the Minister said: “we will have to use blended, multi-faceted learning approaches in the coming months.”

Manickchand said the Ministry’s approach will be tailored based on the epidemiological patterns, physical spacing, internet connectivity, television reception, teacher availability and a range of other measures.

In the interim, curriculum content is being prepared for the Guyana Learning Channel as efforts are being made to ensure the channel reaches more communities across the country.

She added that learning kits and packages with print and other material to deliver to specific categories of students are being developed for online education.

“To be clear, we hope and intend to be ready with some of these initiatives as early as the second week of September so that most students can thereafter be actively engaged,” Manickchand added.

Circumstances may change depending on the evolution of COVID 19.

Additionally, teachers will be re-trained as far as possible “to deliver education differently” since once schools reopen, the school term may be adjusted while there may be an extended school week to allow for rotations of students and teachers.

“These are all matters we are still examining, albeit with urgency. We will let you know as we make those important decisions,” the Minister announced.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2020/08/14/schools-will-not-re-open-in-september-manickchand-outlines-plans-for-virtual-learning/

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand on Friday announced that the scheduled reopening of schools on September 7 has been postponed due the increased cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
No new date has been fixed.

The minister made this announcement on Friday through the Department of Public Information (DPI) explaining that the decision was made after wide consultations were held with stakeholders across Guyana.

“All schools shall remain closed to face to face teaching of the month of September, while we continue to review and evaluate the evolution of the disease and our school’s readiness,” she explained.

During those consultations, it was discovered that most students have not been academically engaged in a “structured manner” from March to now.

“We’ve been told that there has been tremendous loss of income of families and of the worry of parents, teachers and community leaders that this may result in premature school leaving or drop-outs with students not completing their education,” the minister added.

However, Ms. Manickchand noted that in order for schools to be reopened, there needs to be enough masks for both students and teachers, hand-washing facilities, and social distancing needs to be practiced.

Minister Manickchand said parents who have adopted alternative methods to teaching their children are encouraged to continue and seek help from the ministry where needed to improve while the education ministry works on content and other areas and the physical environment of schools.

Despite the current challenges, Ms. Manickchand said her ministry is actively looking at using a more blended, multi-faceted learning approach in the coming months.

“We will have to tailor our approach based on the epidemiological patterns, physical spacing, internet connectivity, television reception, teacher availability and a range of other measures,” she added.

Meanwhile, she said her ministry is currently engaged in developing curriculum content  to be broadcasted on the Guyana Learning Channel. Plans are also being made to expand the reach of the channel to areas it never went before. Added to that, the creation of learning kits and packages with print and other material to deliver to specific categories of students are also being developed for online education.

The minister also made a commitment to have teachers re-trained as far as possible to deliver education in the context of COVID-19, which could see schools being reopened on a rotation basis and all academic school terms being adjusted. “These are all matters we are still examining, albeit with urgency,” she added.

Ms. Manickchand said she is hopeful that a more comprehensive plan could be announced on or before the second week of September. The education minister reminds that all decisions are subject to an evaluation of the pandemic which may or may not change some plans.

Source: https://demerarawaves.com/2020/08/14/september-reopening-of-schools-postponed/