2014 Budget...Education allocation will put Guyana in a better place

2014 Budget…Education allocation will put Guyana in a better place

Mar 29, 2014 News

– Minister Manickchand

In spite of economical decline evident in many countries of the world in recent years, “Guyana has held her own and has grown. That is an amazing thing,” said Minister of Education, Priya Devi Manickchand, yesterday.
The Minister, who was at the time speaking at a forum at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), in Kingston, Georgetown, alluded to the disclosures of Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

Dr Singh, presenting the 2014 National Budget on Monday, disclosed that Guyana has been able to realise eight consecutive years of economic growth. “That is something that we can be proud of…We are at a great place nationally,” Minister Manickchand observed.
“We could say that we are at the strongest place that Guyana has ever been really, economically, growth-wise and everything…and this is in a world economy that has not been kind to its people,” the Minister noted.
She said that growth in any country comes from strong policies, affirmed vision and from a relentless pursuit of that vision, something Government has been continuously embracing.
“With great stewardship and great leadership we are seeing Guyana grow…Anyhow you look at it, this is an achievement for Guyana that we can all celebrate irrespective of whatever affiliations people may have and where you live and what your views are on various issues,” Manickchand disclosed.
And it was because of evident national stability, the Minister said, that Government has been able to invest repeatedly, over the years, across sectors thereby enabling the realised growth.
However, it was the education sector, she underscored that has consistently been granted the lion’s share of the national budget.
“If you look at past (People Progressive Party/Civic’s budgets) you will see that undoubtedly a large budgetary allocation is made to the education sector every year,” asserted Manickchand.
This year, $32.3 B has been earmarked for the Education Sector. “This is the single sector that is receiving the most,” boasted the Education Minister, even as she turned her attention to the vast numbers who stand to benefit once this sizeable allocation is approved for spending.
And not only will children be the beneficiary of the education allocation, the Minister said, but also families, as a whole, are expected to be improved in the long run.
“If we are making this generation more prepared than we made the generation before, then we can be sure that Guyana is going to be a better place 50 years from now simply because we will have more capacity; we will have more children who are independent; more children who are better geared to take our country forward,” the Education Minister declared.
The Minister’s extensive deliberation was forthcoming even as she sought, in her own way, to simplify the “budgeted billions”.
“Sometimes when we talk about the billions of dollars we have, and the billions of dollars allocated to the Education Sector and how many billions of dollars are in the budget we get lost in what that really means…,” noted the Minister, as she pointed to the beneficiaries as the important factors.
“Because our boys and girls are going to grow up better prepared, better educated adults, Guyana as a whole will benefit and when Guyana benefits then every single person is going to be on the receiving end of those benefits,” Manickchand assured.