GITC hosts 44th Graduation ceremony

Dec 17, 2010 News

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One hundred and sixty-five (165) students of the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC) graduated yesterday after completing various courses that were offered at the centre, which allowed them to acquire and enhance vocational skills that would make them marketable in society.
Chairperson of the ceremony, Vera Naughton, said that education is the ‘single most powerful weapon against poverty and intolerance’. She explained that education in all forms plays a vital role in changing and developing one’s country, especially since education teaches concerns of society (social education), focuses on the inside of an individual (spiritual education) and concerns professionalism (vocational education).
Administrator of the GITC, Dexter Cornette, stated that since the institute began servicing the nation in 1966, it has continued empowering men and women by developing skills which would make significant contributions in society.
Cornette, in his speech, said that for this year, there were 276 trainees who entered the GITC (171 full-time and 105 part-time) while 11 of these students were sent from the Hinterland welfare division.
He explained that 49 students during the course of the year (18% of the intake) dropped out of the institution because of various factors such as migration, financial difficulties and also not being able to receive time-off from workplaces to pursue studies.
The administrator added that the GITC has over the years maintained partnerships with multiple industries and business entities in Georgetown and its surrounding areas, where students were placed on ‘attachment’ to gain the relevant exposure and working experience.
Cornette proudly elucidated that there were workshops in which students participated during their tenure at the GITC which catered for their self-development in various areas. Some of these workshops focused on social issues which included HIV/ AIDS and ways to improve the standard of technical vocational training.
Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, who was present at the graduation ceremony, told the gathering that the Education Ministry is committed towards building skills and competencies of young people throughout Guyana which entails providing students with programmes that would meet their interests and benefit them in the long-run.
He posited that many children in today’s society do not want to focus solely on academics but are interested in acquiring and developing vocational skills and therefore his Ministry has designed and implemented “a whole range of skills in secondary schools” with the hopes of minimizing the ‘drop-out’ rate of students.
Baksh noted that 35 schools are currently offering the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP), which was introduced by the Ministry of Education, and caters for students who opt for vocational studies instead of pursuing academics. In the event that some students do not complete the five-year tenure required at the secondary level, they can become “certified in vocational areas” in their third-year with the SCCP and will be able to “continue to develop themselves” in the field of their choice.
He also stated that this certificate would make the students employable, should they leave school, after grade nine, and will ensure that they can apply at the GITC and complete advance studies in technical vocational education.
The Minister explained that “within two to three years, the amount of schools will be doubled to 70 that offer the SCCP”. He emphasised the need for some type of initiative that would be able to “hold children in school” since it is becoming evident that “more and more students are dropping out of school”.
Minister Baksh urged the graduates to “move ahead” and continue advancement in the skills they each selected. He told them that they “must not see this as an end, parents must encourage you to continue.”
In his speech, he boasted that his Ministry is dedicated in “providing windows of opportunities for youths to pursue life-long learning”, and that billions of dollars are being spent to build skills and competencies for both youths and adults.
Baksh explained that currently the Education Ministry is building two more Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET) centres, one of which is located at Park, Mahaicony and the other at Leonora, to the tune of US$10M.
He stated that substantial amounts of money will be provided to re-tool and re-equip Practical Instruction Centres (PICs) and other TVET centres countrywide.
The Education Minister added that “GITC will be given more and more contracts to build furniture in schools” since such opportunities not only give the students recognition and income for their hard-work, but cater for the institution to earn finances for their expenses as well.
Also present at yesterday’s graduation ceremony was Major General (Retd) Norman McLean who is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) and GITC.

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