Improvement in Education Sector dependent on partnerships - Baksh

Improvement in Education Sector dependent on partnerships – Baksh

Feb 24, 2010 News

Students’ performances in the areas of Mathematics and English, though not flattering in recent years, is in fact not peculiar to Guyana since other Caribbean territories are experiencing similar problems. At least this is the observation of Education Minister, Shaik Baksh, who opined that the situation is evidently improving. His convictions were amplified during his attempts to outline progress made within the education sector during the recent budget debate.
In his deliberations he sought to highlight that although much more is desired locally in terms of improved performances, Guyana has outdone its sister territories with respect to students obtaining five subjects and more at the Regional Examinations.
According to Minister Baksh “under the current strategic plan, the ministry is aiming to increase Grades One to Three passes in English from 40 percent to 50 percent in the next five years.” Over this period, the Ministry is also seeking to increase the pass rate in Mathematics from 23 percent to 40 percent and passes in Grades One to Three from 56 percent to 70 percent, he added.
Also, in an effort to improve students’ performances and curb the school dropout rate at the post-primary level, the Ministry has converted all Community High Schools to discrete secondary schools.
In charting out ambitious goals for the sector, the Minister predicted that all secondary schools and at least 50 percent of primary schools countrywide will be equipped with Information Technology laboratories within the next three years.
However, Baksh said that while these developments are laudable, parents have to play a more active role in their children’s education to ensure they receive the maximum benefit even as he emphasised the ministry’s openness to work in partnership with them in this regard.
The Minister also sought to challenge a statement made by Executive Member of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Amna Ally, which suggested that education is in severe trouble. Baksh referred to the Executive Member’s utterance as “an injustice to the truth” as she failed to provide evidence to support her pronouncement.
Following his refutation, Baksh disclosed that just last year alone, over 10,000 students sat the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC), a threefold increase compared to the number of candidates who took the examinations under the former administration.
Moreover, he underscored that the urban, rural and hinterland areas today have access to secondary education, which is indeed a testimony of the Government’s commitment to not only improving performance in the sector but broadening access as well.
Baksh pointed out though that despite the fact that the sector has been making rapid progress, all is still not perfect. As a result, he contended that with the opposition on board, the education sector could yield the desired results.
“The education train is moving like a bullet and we want all to be on board,” the minister boldly articulated. He noted, too, that the Ministry is not negligent to the challenges confronting it and as such is seeking a partnership approach to overcome the setbacks and advance the sector to new heights.
The 2010 budget, he highlighted, represents another reflection of Government’s commitment to modernise the education sector and aid in the push to engender national development.

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Improvement in Education Sector dependent on partnerships – Baksh

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