“ACCESS to education is at an all-time high, with more than 85% of our children enrolled in schools,” were the words of Education Minister Priya Manickchand as she deemed the year 2014 a success for the Ministry of Education.

In Guyana, she said, the education sector has seen consistent support from the administration, and has been changed enormously over the years.

With a budgetary allocation of $32.3B this year — the highest sectorial allocation — more focus has been placed on educating the nation, the minister affirmed.

In her annual assessment of the education sector, delivered at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Minister Manickchand pointed out that access to education is at an all-time high in sectors. Her explanation was that “with more than 85% students enrolled in schools, this is the highest rating across the Commonwealth Caribbean”.

She also said that the new age for admission to nursery schools has ensured more students are entered into the system. “With this age change,” she said, “it meant that 2,908 more children have been able to access education in the public system.”

Nursery education is not compulsory in Guyana. Prior to 2014, a child had to be born on March 31 of the year that the child turned three in order to be able to enter a school in September of that year.

It should be noted also, the Education Minister said, that the MoE has done much consultation with parents and teachers, and after noting the resources available to children, a policy decision was made and implemented.

“A literate population is going to drive a speedier development”, she said; and, as such, the implementation of this policy would assist our children earlier.

The Education Minister emphasised that primary schooling in Guyana has achieved the Millennium Development Goal, and all children in Guyana have access to primary education; but the secondary sector has not yet achieved this goal in every region, although it has so done in most, and work is ongoing towards achieving this across the board.

“We have achieved Universal Primary Education in Guyana, and (are) very close (to) achieving Universal Secondary”, she said.
“There are plans for the construction of three new secondary schools in 2015,” she said. These will be located at Good Hope and Yarrowkabra in Region 4, and Parfaite Harmonie in Region 3. These schools will cater for 2,600 more students.

Under the theme “Literate by Grade 4 through consistent home, school and community involvement”, Minister Manickchand is working towards making sure that each child is literate by Grade 4.

The five-year Literacy Strategic Plan was launched during literacy week this year.

Two new series of text books, which will empower nursery and primary aged students with more access to adequate materials, have been written. These are the Roraima series for nursery age children, and the Atlantic Readers for primary aged children. The Roraima Readers include readers, work books, writing skills workbooks, flash cards, charts, and assessments. This series is currently being used while the Atlantic series will be introduced in the New Year.

Manickchand explained that the text books were written by local experts who had the Guyanese/ Caribbean child in mind.
Core text books for Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Science have been procured for every child in all public primary schools. She explained that there are some schools that would not have received adequate amounts of the books, or had not yet received their quotas. “The ministry is working to have this corrected,” she explained.

She noted, too, that the relevant Mathematics and English text books were, for the first time in Guyana, procured for each student from Grades 7 to 11, and each should have their copies.

The Education Ministry has also purchased a quantity of furniture for all schools countrywide, so as to make the school environment more comfortable and conducive to work. It was explained that every school was instructed to make available to the ministry a list of the various furniture needed, and the procurement was done accordingly.

Source: https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/12/16/education-minister-deems-2014-a-successful-year-for-moe

Three months after the Education Ministry launched a revised five-year literacy programme targeting students Grade Four and below, Minister Priya Manickchand identified accountability as the biggest challenge facing the initiative.

Manickchand made the pronouncement when questioned by Stabroek News on Friday during a year-end report on the ministry’s successes and further said that it was too early to determine the accomplishments or failures of the literacy programme.

“It’s way too early for us to determine whether it’s made a difference,” Manickchand admitted. She also explained that one of the texts created for the programme was not yet in the system.

Manickchand further noted that simply placing the resources in the school was not enough to truly tackle illiteracy in Guyana.

“The thing about it is that putting the resources in the schools is not going to do it alone; you need to change the way we see the importance of literacy,” Manickchand said. She went on, “We have to change how we train teachers to deliver on the literacy programme. We have to monitor persons.”

As a result, she opined, accountability was a key component in tackling illiteracy. “We said we want to teach this, is this happening?” she questioned. She also recounted two instances where she visited schools but resources had not been available though they had already been procured for the schools.

According to Manickchand, the literacy programme had also been hindered by the high costs of textbooks along with the inability of the system to recognise desired results. These setbacks saw the ministry embarking on the writing of two new reading series to encourage literacy.

The Roraima series has already been introduced into the nursery school system, while primary-aged students will be able to get their copies of the Atlantic Reader in the new year. Manickchand stated that the books were written by local experts with “the Guyanese Caribbean child in mind.

“The readers that were written…were guided by the international literacy standards and benchmarks that we expect our children to meet.”

She added, “… Once a child successfully finishes a chapter, we would know specifically what benchmark or standard they would have met in the effort to making our children literate by Grade Four.”

Additionally, she said, core texts in Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Science were procured for every single child in the public school system. “This is the first time in our country that we’ve procured these core texts for each and every single child across the country   as personal copies,” Manickchand boasted.

Further, Manickchand expressed hope that the literacy skills acquired would exceed beyond grade 4.

Meanwhile, the Educa-tion Strategic Plan 2014-2018 is currently in the draft stage. According to the Education Minister, following the previous plan’s expiration in 2013, numerous consultations have been held throughout 2014 while the ministry drafts the new plan.

The plan is aimed at increasing the learning achievements at all levels of education and for all sub-groups. Further, it will be aimed at decreasing the differences and learning outcomes between sub-groups, especially between students in coastal and hinterland schools, Manickchand said. She added that the plan will focus on literacy, numeracy, science and technology.

In September, the Ministry of Education launched its revised plan and Manickchand had stated that literacy tests conducted from grades One to Six showed that only 32% of students were at grade level literacy.

The revised action plan will have the goal of pass rates of 60%, 65%, and 50% with grades One to Five at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), National Grade two and Four Assessments and the Caribbean Secondary Certification (CSEC) Examinations, respectively.

Universal secondary education

Meanwhile, the ministry has claimed that it has ramped up its efforts to attain universal secondary education in Guyana and this will see the construction of three new secondary schools within the country in the coming year.

According to Manick-chand, these schools will be built at Good Hope, Yarrowkabra, and Westminster/Parfait Harmonie.

These schools are expected to accommodate some 2,600 students.

“We’ve not as yet attained universal secondary education in every region although we have attained universal secondary education in most of our regions,” Manickchand said. “We will not rest, however, until universal secondary education is available to all of our secondary-aged students,” she added.

Manickchand further said that construction for the $728 million Kato Secondary School is progressing smoothly and will be completed by early next year.

The exorbitant construction cost of the school had raised numerous eyebrows and Minister Manickchand on Friday maintained that the money was being used correctly. Manickchand further admitted that the project was the largest the ministry had ever encountered and undertaken.

An official of the Engineers Department of the Education Ministry explained that the engineer’s estimate for the project had been $680 million. The project was open to bids for several weeks before it was awarded to Kares Engineering Incorporated along with consultancy group Design and Construction Services Ltd (DSCL).

Additionally, Manickchand said, the area was chosen to alleviate an overcrowding issue at the Paramakatoi Pri-mary School. She added that it was also chosen due to its proximity to a waterfall; the minister said that a hydro-electric programme will be developed to provide electricity to the school.

“This school would allow us to take off many of the secondary children who are attending primary tops,” she said. “They go to a primary school and when they are finished they continue in the primary school with some secondary work, which is highly undesirable. So, wherever we can we will be expanding secondary education like this,” she added.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/news/guyana/12/16/accountability-challenge-seen-delivering-literacy-programme/

Called upon publicly yesterday to defend her daughter’s attendance at a private school, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said it was done in her child’s “best interest.”

It was at the Education Ministry’s end-of-year press conference yesterday that Manickchand was questioned on the trend of public officials placing their children in private schools rather than public ones.

Manickchand said that while she could not speak for others, the law provides for parents to make choices on their children’s education.

“The Constitution of Guyana allows for private schools, which allow parents from across the country to make choices for their children. Most parents I know do what they believe would be best for their children,” Manickchand said. “It would be hard to ask me to speak here about why other people do things,” she added.

“My daughter is in a private school and it’s a very simple reason,” she said. “She was born in 2010 and in 2013 she would have turned 3 but she was not allowed in the public school because she was a month younger than she needed to be… If she did, you would ask me now why I broke the rules to allow my child into a school that I wasn’t allowing other people into.”

Manickchand added that there was a private school willing to accept her daughter and in any case the decision did not rest solely with her. “I’ll ask you to remember also she has another parent, who also makes decisions for her and that other parent felt it would be in her best interest, given the place she was at, to start school at the time that she did.”

She further said that her daughter would have to be demoted from upper to lower nursery if she was now moved into the public school system. “I know of no parent who would do that to their child; if I’m doing what’s in the best interest of every other child in the country, you should demand of me that I do what’s in the best interest of my child,” Manickchand maintained.

Earlier this year, the age of admission for nursery school children was lowered and this change, Manickchand said, has seen over 2,600 children being able to access nursery school earlier.

Since word of Manickchand’s explanation spread, persons have taken to social media to both blast and defend the minister. While some persons believe Manickchand’s decision to place her daughter in a private school implied that she, like others, viewed the public school system as inferior, others say she has every right to make decisions on her children’s education.

For years, there has been debate on the quality of education in private schools as compared to that of public ones. Particularly around the release of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results, questions are raised on whether children who attend private schools have access to better education.

In June, this year’s NGSA results showed that only one public school student placed in the top 10 best performing students throughout the nation. Further, the majority of students who made up the top 168 candidates were from private schools in Guyana.

In response, Manickchand had stated that students’ achievements must be applauded, regardless of the school they attended.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/news/guyana/12/13/manickchand-says-private-school-education-childs-best-interest/

Though Minister of Education Priya Manickchand has deemed the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant programme a success, she believes that much more could have been done to grapple with the numerous challenges which arose.

Manickchand made the proclamation at a press conference yesterday to update the public on the ministry’s year and further said that implementation had been the biggest issue when it came to the distribution of the $10,000 vouchers.

According to the minister, as of December 8, 135,969 vouchers were issued to parents across the country. This number is still growing as 4 more areas are expected to be completed by today’s end. In contrast, about 15,000 officials were tasked with assisting the ministry in its distributions. However, while some were enthusiastic to do their job effectively, others were “lazy” or simply did not care, Manickchand said.

The ministry faced other issues, including the limited amount of encashment areas for parents along with non-submission of names and inaccurate data.

The programme spread out across the country from October 11 to mid-December and Manickchand noted that there had been reports that the distribution had been chaotic and confusing. However, she denied this, saying that the long lines gave the impression of chaos when in fact the distribution had been under control.

“I don’t think there was confusion as much as long lines,” Manickchand said. She noted that these long lines were caused by the limited amount of encashment points. However, she added, the ministry was willing to expand to other businesses besides Western Union.

“There is no monopoly here by any person but of course to expand means we have to find willing persons,” Manickchand said.

She explained that a number of options had been approached but in many cases businesses had not been willing or the processes had been too tedious, particularly in the banks. Post offices had also been approached but security concerns had been raised. The majority of parents, she added, had been enthusiastic about cashing their vouchers at Western Union outlets.

“We did what people wanted,” the minister said. She continued, “We have seen things we can do better…it was easy for a programme this big to go south on us.”

Out of $2 billion allocated for the ministry’s cash grants, Manickchand stated that $1.68 billion has already been expended. According to a ministry official, all unused funds will be returned to the consolidated fund after an audit has been conducted.

When asked whether the ministry plans on continuing its cash grant programme next year, Manickchand promised, “this programme will continue and it is going to get better.”

Despite the numerous challenges faced, Manickchand said, the cash grant had the benefit of bringing truants back into the education system. “We saw children who were out of school coming back to school in September because this programme was going to happen.” However, she noted, simply returning was not enough.

“What we have to do in the education system is keep them in school. We have to make sure we don’t waste this opportunity that was handed to us to get these kids back into school. So, coming into school they were welcomed with open arms but we have to make sure every single class maintains a register where they are conscious of every single child, especially those who are out of school but came back in for this programme.”

When questioned by Stabroek News whether the ministry will review this year’s policy that the cash grants would not be distributed based on attendance, Manickchand stated that a review is a possible. “We’ve thought about it; I’d like to do it,” she said.

She explained that many parents had indicated during consultations that the cash grants should indeed be based on attendance and not simply registration. “It might be something we want to do; we will examine it and see if that would work,” the minister added.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/news/guyana/12/13/care-programme-success-despite-challenges-says-manickchand/

EDUCATION Minister, Priya Manickchand, in her drive to reach out to the children of Guyana during the festive season, visited the Bath Primary, Cotton Tree Primary and Belladrum Primary schools within Region 5 (Mahaica/Berbice), spreading the Christmas cheer.

On Thursday, December 4, the minister visited the Belladrun Primary, where the Ministry of Education hosted a Christmas Concert. Having enjoyed the students’ performances, the minister noted that there is a time for hard work and also a time for hard work to be rewarded. The Education Ministry also distributed little treat bags to the children.

Minister Manickchand noted that this is the season for togetherness and sharing, and she said that as part of the MoE Christmas plan, students are being rewarded for their hard work and good performance during the year.

She emphasised: “You should not slack up on your studies. Enjoy the holidays, but remember that education is a major part of your lives.”

On Friday, December 5, she visited the Bath Primary; and on Monday, December 8, the Cotton Tree Primary. At each school, students presented their cultural items and the Education Ministry entertained the students with performances from actors attached to the Theatre Guild.

Source: (Rebecca Ganesh-Ally) https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/12/09/in-spirit-of-festive-season-education-minister-interfaces-with-region-5-students

Local students are being urged to not only be passive users of science but rather seek to be contributors to creating knowledge for science and humanity.  This call was made by Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Dr. Frank Anthony, as he addressed a gathering of students at the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge finals at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Saturday.

“I think that once given the opportunity and guidance you will be able to do this,” said Dr. Anthony of students being contributors to Science and even Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
And according to him, the Sagicor Challenge could be viewed as a starting point for students, coupled with the fact that the Ministry of Education has introduced in schools across the country, Science Clubs.
The Sagicor Challenge is one that takes the form of a competition among students who utilise Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to create solutions to address issues within their schools or environments.
Moreover, Dr. Anthony noted that “I am sure that through the Science Clubs we will have a more sustainable way of developing these projects.”

According to the passionate Culture Minister, “Science is a wonderful thing and I think without Science a lot of what happens in the world cannot happen…we interact everyday with Science yet, sometimes, we are not very conscious about how it works and we need students to take cognisance of this because it is very important.”
He added that local students are well on their way to realising this goal, as he lauded the projects entered into the Challenge this year. According to him, “I am impressed not only by what I saw, but the concepts and ideas that have been put forward, and I think if we can see some of these projects materialised then some of the problems that are facing us as a country, we can use these solutions to solve the problems.”
His assessment of the projects also helped him to conclude that the projects that were on display Saturday, not only showed innovation but showed that they (students) spent quality time to ensure that they produced workable solutions. The winning project was a paddy processor produced by students of the Abram Zuil Secondary School of Region Two, East Bank Essequibo.

The project emphasised how paddy husk (the shell of rice) could be processed into wooden form that can be used for the purpose of making ceilings, furniture and other products.
There were also several other innovative projects that have relevance to the society. And according to Dr. Anthony, the projects indicate that “…they (students) talked about the problems that are confronting their schools or their societies and researched it… and when you talked to them about their methodology you get a sense that it is not just somebody putting this thing together, but they spent time researching the problem and then fashioning a solution, and I think that augers well as we move forward.”
He therefore noted that while in the past students graduated from school with a number of subjects but still lacked skills suitable for the world of work, the knowledge gained through initiatives such as the Challenge, will ensure that students are able to translate book knowledge into practical application. “I think what you have been seeing over the past few years is quite remarkable,” said Dr. Anthony as he alluded to Guyana’s involvement in the Sagicor Challenge which was first introduced in these parts in 2012.

“What we have to do is keep working on these projects, continue developing them and perhaps even testing them out in your communities; I want you to move to the next step and try and implement these things because they can be implemented,” Dr. Anthony told the students.
In fact, he pointed out that in this age of considerable advancement there are many fields that are opening. Moreover, he noted that focus should no longer remain on the micro level of technology, for instance, but rather efforts should be made to embrace nanotechnology.  “We need to have people who can innovate in some of these areas, when we think about the explosion of digital technology. We would like to see some young people using social media but we (also) want you to make the applications that others have been using on social media and the internet and I think you have the ability to do that,” Dr. Anthony told the participating students.

Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2014/12/04/culture-minister-urges-students-to-be-contributors-to-science/

THE Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPWD) yesterday held their annual Disability Day rally, in honour of World Disability Day 2014.The day was celebrated under the theme “Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology – From Exclusion to Empowerment: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies for persons with disabilities is timely and appropriate.”
Present at the Rally yesterday which was held at the Carifesta Sports Complex, Thomas Lands Georgetown, were Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, head of the Probation and Social Services Department, Forbes Munroe, Chairman of the GCOPWD, Leon Walcott and other officials and persons with disabilities.

Minister Manickchand in her remarks expressed thanks for being invited by the GCOPWD to share a part of the day’s activities.
She said that some of the persons with disabilities (PWDs) had participated in consultations that the Ministry of Education had set up in several regions across Guyana on Special Education Needs (SEN).
CONSULTATIONS
She added that during those consultations, stakeholders including persons with disabilities, shared their ideas on some of the steps the Ministry of Education needs to take to have a more inclusive and better quality education for persons, and in particular children, with disabilities.
Minister Manickchand added that some of those ideas included the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in meeting the needs of students with disabilities.
She noted that it is for ICT that I feel that the theme “Sustainable Development: The Promise of Technology – From Exclusion to Empowerment: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies for persons with Disabilities is timely and appropriate.”
The Minister added that in their consultations there were discussions on the use of television, audio equipment, computers, scanners, and many other types of assistive devices, to support the delivery of education to students with SEN and the acquisition of appropriate equipment is an integral part of the Ministry’s SEN operational plan, which she understands has been shared with several organisations, including the National Commission on Disability and the Council.
ICT BENEFITS
Minister Manickchand further added that in the last 18 months the Ministry has had ample evidence of the power of ICT to facilitate the delivery of education to persons with SEN, through its support of a programme run by the Guyana Society for the Blind.
She noted that persons who had dropped out of school were gaining excellent passes at the CXC examinations and moving on to tertiary education at Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the University of Guyana (UG).

FURTHER PLANS
Minister Manickchand said that the MOE is planning to move to a place where the use of computers and appropriate software programmes will be used to convert text into speech for blind students and also will be looking to implement this within the regular school system.
In closing she noted, “It is therefore my hope that during this week, and indeed in many weeks to come, businesses/firms will also recognise the promise of technology in becoming more inclusive organisations i.e. in being able to employ and cater for persons with disabilities.”
She also stated that “we all have a part to play in ensuring that persons with disabilities reach their full potential and are able to contribute to the sustainable development of this country in the way we know they are capable of.”

OVERVIEW OF EVENT
Also speaking at the rally, Chairman of the GCOPWD in brief remarks noted that the event organised by the GCOPWD was held in order to promote awareness for PWDs.

He noted that the event was set up so that persons with disabilities can have an opportunity to showcase their talent and let the public know that they are highly capable of doing quite a lot and also they can play a major role in society.

In closing he noted that persons with disabilities are special persons who can do a lot if given the chance to assist in contributing to the development of Guyana.

Source: https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/12/03/disability-rally-highlights-role-of-ict-as-timely-and-appropriate

A deliberate move by the Ministry of Education to foster interest in the sciences has resulted in more children across the country expressing interest in the single sciences, and science subjects as a whole. In fact, over the last two years there has been a 22 per cent increase in the number of entrants for science subjects at the level of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination.

At least this was the disclosure of Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, who yesterday said that “you would think that with the increase you would see a drop in the grades, well we haven’t had a drop…We have practically maintained our good grades; the number of students that are passing Grades One to Three – acceptable pass marks – and that my friends, is something we can celebrate and we should celebrate.”
The Minister was at the time preparing to officially launch the 2014 leg of the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge which kicked off yesterday at the Homestretch Avenue, Georgetown, Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The event, which is spearheaded by Sagicor Life Inc., is being held in collaboration with the Caribbean Science Foundation and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
In continuing her deliberation on the performance of students in the sciences, the Minister asserted that  “ it didn’t happen by magic; getting an increased number of children able to enter and write the exams, including all the practicals and so on, came from conscientious thoughts, strategic planning and heavy investments…”
As part of the Ministry’ strategic tactic, was the introduction of Inquiry Based Science at the level of the primary schools. This, Manickchand noted, has allowed very young children to be exposed to science and science subjects by inquiring practically. This move has seen them “going out into the fields, into the gutter looking at frogs, looking at how leaves rot when they fall into a drain…so we have more children from a very young age being exposed to this through Inquiry Based Science Education programme.”
It is because of this, Manickchand noted, that students’ interests were steered towards the sciences. But according to her, being interested and wanting to do science is certainly not enough.  “We have to make sure in the Government that we have environments, schools and labs where children can actually enter and write those subjects,” said Minister Manickchand as she revealed that the Education Ministry, in collaboration with UNESCO, has embarked on a programme to make available to schools micro-science kits. These kits, according to the Minister, practically puts a laboratory in every school “Those are some of the little things we have done to make sure that we can see results.”
Speaking to the promotion of science on a global scale, the Minister noted too that “we are absolutely sure in the world that the only way that we can progress speedily and sustain that progression and development, is if we harness the tools and resources we have in persons like you (students), in making sure we can sustain whatever development our various countries can see.”
As such, the Minister stressed the need for countries, with the support of various stakeholders, including the private sector, to encourage and promote the abilities and talents of young people. “Our job as a State, our job as a community…is to provide an environment where you can thrive, where your innovations can be given life, where you can create, where you can think outside of the box, and have those thoughts made into something that can help sustain the world’s development.”
Manickchand therefore, amplified the importance of activities such as the Sagicor Visionary Challenges which serves to promote the use of not only science but all STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. According to her, “throwing down an exhibition once a year or joining Sagicor once a year to pull off a Challenge once a year would not be enough…We would need to do more, we would need to make sure that we provide an environment where you would’ve been exposed from young to the ability to think for yourselves and put those thoughts down into projects…” an undertaking that Government is fully embracing.

Source: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2014/11/29/more-students-gravitating-to-the-sciences-manickchand/

IF good weather allows, the physical structure of the Kato Secondary school, Region 8 should be completed by the end of January 2015, according to Regional Executive Officer, Ronald Harsawack. The REO recently accompanied, President Donald Ramotar, Ministers, Priya Manickchand and Juan Edghill and others on a tour of the facility which is currently under construction.

According to Harsawack, on completion, the Kato Secondary school can be considered the single largest investment in the education sector.
The main structure carries a cost of $780M, but on completion, can rack up a total of as much as $1B, as the cost of furnishing; lighting, fencing, and security have still to be added.
The school will be able to accommodate close to 400 students with a dormitory built to house more than 250. This school will serve children from communities including, Kato, Kurukubaru, Monkey Mountain, and other surrounding Amerindian communities.
The PPP/C Government has always prioritised education, placing it at the top of the agenda; and under successive PPP/C Governments, more than 1000 schools have been built or rehabilitated.
From 1994, 14 nursery schools in the hinterland increased to 116 in 2014, primary schools moved from 111 to 139 and secondary from 5 to 12.
A number of dorm facilities have also been constructed and renovated in Regions 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9 to accommodate the growing number of students.
According to Harsawack, due to improved access to education and other investments made, more parents are sending their children to school and putting pressure on the existing infrastructure at Paramakatoi.

Further, he explained that this will reduce some cost to the administration as in the past children from some surrounding communities had to be shuttled on aircraft to Region 9 to attend secondary school.  

“This would be the most modern school upon completion, Information Technology lab, Technical Drawing, Wood Working lab etc…”
In addition, there will also be accommodation for teachers if the region is unable to source teachers from within.
The provision of universal access to secondary education is among the new wave of commitment that Government is determined to achieve; and more so, to cater for the influx of children completing primary school education.

Source: http://guyanachronicle.com/2014/11/19/construction-of-780m-kato-secondary-progressing-likely-to-be-completed-early-next-year

WORLD Science Day for Peace and Development was celebrated on Monday, November 10, under the theme ‘Quality Science Education: Ensuring a sustainable future for all’.

UNESCO has deemed quality basic science education as an indispensable lever for innovation, being conducive to any sustainable development.

In a world increasingly shaped by science and technology, scientific and technological literacy is a universal requirement for national and global development.

In recent years, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has recognised the role of Science and Technology Education in fostering Guyana’s development along a green pathway.
Through its new five-year strategic plan (2014-2018), the Ministry of Education has captured innovations in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education for sustainable national development.

Teacher training and school-based follow-up support in STEM forms the foundation of the implementation of the plan. The quality of science education is being enhanced through the inquiry-based science education (IBSE) initiative launched in 2011 through collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Caribbean Academy of Sciences (CAS).

The initiative promotes ‘hands-on’ learning and fosters the development of critical thinking in students at a very early age. It has brought back the ‘fun’ into science teaching and learning.
Students learn from the environment and through the environment.

Another initiative by the Education Ministry was the introduction of the micro-science kits, which has contributed to improvements in the quality of science education. More than 90 secondary schools are now equipped with these kits, supporting manuals and chemicals.

Since its introduction in 2012, a 20% increase in the number of students enrolling for the CSEC single sciences has been recorded.
This year, a pilot project has commenced for seventeen primary schools in various regions of Guyana where portable science kits (true mini-labs) were distributed. These contribute to interactive hands-on learning in science.

Queen’s College student, Joshua Cramer (November 6, 2014), a Grade 10 student, related after using the micro-science advanced chemistry kit: “This is a very clever way of introducing the topic electrolysis and the kits.”

Recent support received from UNESCO will enable the Ministry of Education to develop a policy on education for sustainable development (ESD), the infusion of climate change education for sustainable development (CCESD), and to expand the work in inquiry-based science and mathematics education and the global micro-science experiments project.

Guyana is one of the first countries in the Caribbean Region that has been selected to pilot these initiatives.

Additionally, the Ministry of Education is partnering with local NGOs and other science and technology institutions to promote the use of STEM in solving local school and community problems. The re-establishment of science/environmental clubs in many schools facilitates community-based learning.

Science learnt inside the classroom is taken outside the classroom and used as solutions to local problems. The hosting of science fairs and exhibitions, and public awareness on the importance of science and technology for national sustainable development is raised.

The Ministry of Education welcomes partnerships in its drive to improve the quality of science education, as it seeks to ensure a sustainable future for all Guyanese.

Source: http://guyanachronicle.com/2014/11/12/guyana-acknowledges-importance-of-a-quality-scientific-background