Education Ministry mulls extension of Strategic Plan

Jul 15, 2011 News

…as review commences

After being implemented for more than half its lifespan, the Ministry of Education is contemplating whether it should extend its 2008 to 2013 Strategic Plan by two years.
This intended new period is significant, as the target set for achieving the Millennium Development Goals is 2015, says Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh.
The minister made those remarks yesterday at the first of the two days slated for the review of the education strategic plan. The event was held at the Ministry’s Sport Complex, Carifesta Avenue.
Another meeting will be convened within a month to further discuss the plan.
Minister Baksh reminded Senior Officers of the Ministry that a plan is as good as its implementation, hence the Ministry conducts bi-annual reviews.
This, he asserted, ensures checks and balances in the education system, keeping the Ministry on track of achieving the plan’s goal of providing a system of education that contributes to improving the standard of living.
The mission of the plan is to eliminate illiteracy, modernize education, and strengthen tolerance. In addition, the plan has eight core areas on which it focuses. These include quality education, teacher education, inclusive education (to disabled or challenged groups), as well as monitoring and evaluation.
Since the implementation of the plan in the education system, the Central Ministry has been working with the 11 education districts (10 Administrative Regions and Georgetown) in accomplishing those core areas.
Minister Baksh stated that the education districts must report on how they are achieving the targets of the plan. He stressed that if the Ministry were to focus on the target with relevant data it could complete the review in a timely manner. As such, the Regions need to be meticulous in the provision and presentation of data.
Education districts would have to explain why targets have not been met and constraints encountered during deliberations of the various aspects of the plan, Minister Baksh added.
He expressed the need to reevaluate the plan, which has been experiencing some difficulty in capacity building through human resources.
“No books being used; no libraries being set up!” the minister declared.
He said that apart from capacity, a lot of teachers and principals have not been acting to implement the plan that has been put forth.
In addition, he stated that unless a meeting is set up to visit a particular school, and the school is approved by Ministry of Education standards, no help will be extended and no certificates would be issued.
He went on to state that over the past six months there have been recentralized activities throughout the region in order reach the ministry’s goals, and also added that there have been additions to the workforce – persons with intuitive ideas and in some cases master’s degrees – which is good for the system and can make a great difference.
Baksh expressed the need to develop Science and Technology innovations, as the committee has to set higher goals and focus more on these areas of education.
Apart from the many changes that need to be made there are certainly positive signs, the minister is exceptionally proud of the Grade Six Assessment results and is optimistic about the upcoming CSEC results.
It was noted that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has been the ministry’s partner in the Science and Technology departments, and in an international survey, the body commended Guyana for the progress it has made in the education sector.
In concluding, Baksh commended his officers, “the government has accepted that there is progress because of the efforts made by each and every one of you.”

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Education Ministry mulls extension of Strategic Plan

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