Education Ministry to boost support to volunteer teachers

Aug 18, 2008 News

Teachers who complete the ongoing National Volunteer Teachers Programme may become eligible to access the Cyril Potter College of Education free of cost, according to Minister of Education Shaik Baksh.

The minister’s disclosure came during the most recent graduation ceremony for 11 volunteer teachers who have been enlisted in the national programme.

According to the minister, his ministry is working towards creating a similar model of the ongoing programme, but he noted that, in the meantime, efforts will be undertaken to help finance and sustain volunteering teachers.

It is expected that the volunteer teachers will help to fill the void, particularly in hinterland regions, created when regular teachers are absent from classrooms due to their involvement in meetings, training, or workshops.

The programme is also geared at promoting a sense of nation building, even as volunteer teachers get a chance to contribute to the development of Guyana and at the same time be able to see and enjoy the interior of Guyana.

As volunteers, Minister Baksh posited, persons are able to accentuate their commitment to developing the lives of young Guyanese through education.

For this reason he urged the graduates to “carry the torch of education along their journey into schools.”
The teaching programme originated through the collaboration of the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO), Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) and the Ministry of Education. According to VSO Country Director Arlene Mahaney, working as a volunteer is a large responsibility.

She further disclosed that it is essential that volunteers understand how to integrate with the community to increase effectiveness in the learning experience.

The programme was piloted from September 2007 to July 2008 through the collaborative effort and with financial support from the Government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Canadian High Commissioner, Mr. Charles Court, said that CIDA is pleased to be providing support to the project, since it brings substantial direct benefits to the education system in Guyana and the people of the communities.

He added, too, that CIDA has observed the success thus far, and appreciates that the organizations (YCG and VSO) have been able to use a feedback and monitoring programme to improve the quality of the national volunteers.

YCG Executive Director Dmitri Nicholson pointed out that, through an effective collaboration, a team of persons has been created to impact the school setting in the target areas.

The teachers will this month be dispatched to Regions One and Nine to assist during the new school year.
Prior to their graduation, the teachers were exposed to an intensive one-month training that was facilitated by VSO Dr Nancy Baker, a volunteer based at the National Centre for Educational Research Department.