Schools technology, Science fair set for Friday

Sep 20, 2011 News

As Education Month 2011 continues, a grand science and technology fair and symposium geared at stimulating students’ interest in these fields is to be held on Friday at the Education Ministry Sports Complex, Carifesta Avenue.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds will deliver the feature address at the opening ceremony in the absence of President Bharrat Jagdeo. Minister Shaik Baksh will also address the event that will feature booths from some 55 private and public sector entities.
The event is targeting students throughout the country, primarily senior secondary school students. The one hour opening ceremony which will begin at 9:00h will be followed by a science and technology symposium at 11:00h that will feature presentations from prominent academics in the field.
According to the Education Ministry, ICT is a major plank of the ministry’s 2008-2013 Education Strategic Plan, and the visionary documentation places significant attention on the knowledge deepening process and the realisation of government’s vision to bridge the digital divide.
This year, some 2,000 teachers across the country will be trained to use the computer as a teaching and learning tool and under the World Bank US$4.2M funded Teacher Reform Project, new state-of-the-art laboratories will be built at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the Faculty of Education and Humanities, University of Guyana.
Baksh underlined that the goal of these innovations is to ensure that every teacher in the school system and those leaving the teachers’ training college is equipped with the requisite skills to use the computer as a tool to enhance and support learning.
Recently, the Education Ministry joined forces with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and Microsoft to focus attention on the implementation of plans to develop the capacity of local teachers to use technology more effectively in the classroom.
The Ministry noted that considerably attention is being placed on attracting students to pursue studies in these areas, and a national science coordinator has been appointed to lead the process.
Some of the proposals the Education Ministry is looking at to entice students include scholarships to attend the University of Guyana (UG), subsidy for students sitting the sciences at CSEC and special incentives for teachers trained in the sciences and mathematics.
A non-graduate certificate programme for the sciences-physics, chemistry and biology has already been introduced and teachers who complete the programme receive an increase in remuneration.

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