Contracts inked for two more training schools

Feb 26, 2010 News

Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jennifer Webster, and Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, witness as Permanent Secretary, Phulander Kandhai, (sitting at left) and Roy Bassoo of R. Bassoo and Sons, affix their signatures to the documents.

– Structures to be completed in nine months

Government yesterday signed two contracts that will see almost $1B being spent to build two more technical and vocational schools in the country.
One of the institutions will be located at Leonora, West Coast Demerara, while the other will be built at Park, Mahaicony, in Region 5.
Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, at the signing at the Ministry of Finance, Main Street, disclosed that the collaborative project of the Guyana Government and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) will now make it a total of 10 of these institutions in the country once completed and will be key to targeting school dropouts and others wanting to study for a particular skill.
Four acres of land at Park, Mahaicony, had been donated for that project by the Sankar Brothers, the Minister disclosed. The two facilities will be built by R. Bassoo and Sons.
Explaining the Ministry’s programme to further broaden the technical skills pool in the country, Baksh said that the Secondary Technical and Vocational Programme is being introduced in 24 secondary schools and six practical institutions across the country. It is the hope that the government can, in the next two years, introduce it to some 70 secondary schools.
One of the high points in the programme is the introduction of the Secondary School Certificate Programme for Form 3 or Grade 9, which will allow students to use it to get jobs if unforeseen circumstances happen to force them to leave school early.
Part of the funding from the project will also be used to train teachers in several technical and vocational subject areas, using the facilities at the Government Technical Institute, the Cyril Potter College of Education and the New Amsterdam Technical Institute, the Minister disclosed.
The idea will be to develop a standard for technical and vocational training across the region and moves will be made that will see government working closer with communities to conduct training in technical skills and encourage entrepreneurship.
Meanwhile, according to Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jennifer Webster, the US$9.6M (approx. G$1.9B) project is being funded through a loan by the Caribbean Development Bank with the bank contributing US$7.5M and the Guyana Government the remainder.
It will ensure the delivery of quality technical and vocational training to Guyanese and see also the purchase of key equipment to help in the training.
With the contractor contractually obligated to complete and deliver the two projects in nine months, the Minister while acknowledging the deadline as being tight, warned that failure will have its consequences.
Last year alone, 1,500 persons graduated from technical skills training facilities across the country in areas of agriculture, Information Technology and electrical works.
A further 3,400 benefitted from classes at the University of Guyana’s Turkeyen and Tain Campuses.
Each of the new training schools will accommodate 200 students, but according to the officials yesterday, part-time classes are also being considered.
Also present at yesterday’s ceremony were Permanent Secretary of the Minister of Education,
Phulander Kandhai, Managing Director of R. Bassoo and Sons, Roy Bassoo, and Deputy National Authorising Officer in the Ministry of Finance. Tarachand Balgobin.