Carnegie School of Home Economics is 76

Apr 29, 2009 News

Carnegie School of Home Economics yesterday celebrated its 76th anniversary, an occasion commemorated with several activities, including the launch of its website.
Celebrations began with a commemoration service at the Trinity Methodist Church, followed by an exhibition of students’ work at the school and the official launch of the website.
Acting Principal, Penelope Harris said that they are hoping to offer online programmes in the not too distant future.

Students singing at yesterday’s church service

She also said that they are very excited about the website launch because it provides an opportunity for current members of the school to be in contact with the alumni.
“We have lots of old students in Canada, UK, the United States and the Caribbean, and we know they are going to be pleased about the development.”
According to Harris, she is hoping that the standards of the school will be upheld. “We are also celebrating the fact that we had persons who went before us who set a very good standard, a standard of excellence which we hope to uphold in the future.”
Harris stated that the catering department has attracted the most funding from institutions such as CEDA and most recently USAID, for upgrading purposes.
She noted that from the 1970s to today, there has been a development in the catering and hospitality sector in Guyana.
Carnegie has more than 200 full time students and a further 300 students in the evening programme.
The school teaches cookery, arts and craft, cosmetology and garment construction.
The Carnegie School of Home Economics, formerly the Carnegie Trade School, has its genesis dating back to the 19th Century when several institutions were set up to educate the young women of the society.
This 76-year-old edifice was the result of an initiative of a committee spearheaded by Major W. Bain Gray, Ph.D, the then Director of Education, who believed that there should be a programme of study which included domestic courses such as needlework, cookery, laundry and housekeeping for young girls.
This recommendation saw the institution being set up to facilitate training in this regard. Funding was the responsibility of the Carnegie Board of Trustees and later, the United Kingdom Trust Funds.
During the period 1937 – 1958, the Carnegie Trade School made a decision to commercialise its operations by producing custom-made ladies’ garments and uniforms for the government sector employees.
Large scale catering was also undertaken on request.
In September 1958, trading at this institution was discontinued and a consequent name change was effected, hence “Carnegie School of Home Economics”.
There were also changes to the curriculum and subjects such as Arithmetic, English, Social Studies, Geography, Art and Craft, Home Management, Food and Nutrition and Clothing and Textiles were incorporated into the core curriculum.
This was aimed at giving every girl an opportunity to learn all the skills and attitudes necessary for a good home, family and community life.
During the period 1957 -1958, the Carnegie School of Home Economics also initiated a Home Economics Emergency Training Programme for teachers. Persons were drawn from the three counties – Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice.
In 1971, the Carnegie School of Home Economics formalised its Catering Service to give more specialised training in food preparation and service.
In September 2007, the Carnegie School of Home Economics was merged with the Craft Production and Design Division currently housed in what was the residence of the first Principal of Carnegie, situated at the back of the Carnegie School.
This institution was established in January 1, 1978, having evolved from the Community Development Division under the Ministry of Co-operatives headed by Desmond Hoyte.
Over the years, this Division was sustained by funds provided by Central Government and its own resources through a Revolving Fund. Today this division is solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Education.
The main objective of the Craft Production and Design is to promote and develop an effective and viable Craft Industry as a meaningful contribution to the economy.
Today, the Carnegie School of Home Economics stands alone as the sole leading training institution in the Catering and Hospitality Industry in Guyana, which effectively prepares students in Food Preparation and Service.
In addition, our students receive training in Food Science, Hotel Management, Marketing and Customer Service, Front Desk Management and others.