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Guyanese young men not interested in education to elevate self

Mar 08, 2010 News


…development programmes provide opportunity for skills training – survey

A survey funded by the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and conducted by a team from the University of the West Indies has found that young men in Guyana no longer consider education as a means through which they can elevate themselves.
As such, the team has suggested that the Guyanese society needs to find ways to encourage boys to participate more meaningfully.
It was pointed out that as it stands, women in the Guyanese society are more responsive and responsible for dealing with the issues of the family and community.
“It is apparent that boys lag behind girls in the education system, and by extension, the working environment also…For the adolescent boys, sports are a big ‘pull’, and in some cases it is the only activity that can bring young boys and fathers together,” the report found.
The team cited that an important concern arising from investigation has been the high drop-out rate among secondary school students.
The report pointed out that, between the period 2006 and 2007, the dropout rate for boys in Region Four was 16.30 percent and for girls, 16.33 with the total number of dropouts being 1336 students.
Several factors were identified as contributing to the phenomenon including: the inability or failure of schools to offer programmes that capture students’ interest, especially that of males; the influence of deviant peer group pressures luring some to fall easy prey to drugs and criminality.
It was pointed out also that unemployment and poverty among households have made it difficult for students to be financially able to travel to school and purchase required materials.
The UWI team also in their report, stated that the potential exists for higher levels of participation among young females, indigenous and poor via homework centres, upgrade of training facilities, mentoring programmes, career guidance workshops, resident camps and entrepreneurial support programmes.
It was also noted that ongoing development and expansion of new and existing industries in Guyana present opportunities for skill development and employment.
“As a result, skills training initiatives are recommended in response to national development projects in the following regions: Tourism, Chainsaw Milling Project, Amaila Falls Hydropower Project, CGX Oil Exploration, Crabwood Creek Drainage and Irrigation, City Directional Map, Food Security, Mining and Quarrying, and Agriculture.”
The UWI did highlight that over recent years, the Government of Guyana has demonstrated a clear recognition of the importance of developing the labour market, as evidenced by increase financial allocations for training and development.
In 2009, the Education Sector was budgeted $19B and of the total allocation, $3.4B was expended on capital projects while $15.5B was dedicated to operations of the sector, including $9B for wages and salaries.
One recommendation by the UWI team for maximising Government’s funding of that sector, is the establishment of a National Training Fund with Government contributions matched by the Private Sector.
“A variety of methods may be used for collecting contributions from the Private Sector, including direct taxes, payroll levies and a levy grant system…As a key intervention strategy to meet Guyana’s projected demand over the next three to five years, for some 10,000 skilled workers for major projects requiring both construction and operational skills. The Multi-sector Skill Training (MuST) Programme and the National On-the-Job Training (OJT) Programme, as implemented in Trinidad and Tobago under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education (STTE) were seen as best practices to inform skills training intervention strategies in Guyana.”
The group highlighted the fact that both the MuST Programme and the OJT Programme are work-based training programmes geared to providing employability and skills for sustainable development.

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