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Ministry of Education launches Hinterland Education Improvement Project
Recognizing the need for the delivery of quality education in hinterland communities, the Ministry of Education, this past week, launched its Hinterland Education Improvement Project (HEIP).
Minister Manickchand is greeted by students of St. Ignatius Primary School.
The activity got underway at the St. Ignatius Benab Lethem, Region Nine, on Monday. The event commenced a series of public consultations to be held throughout the hinterland region designed to assist the MOE to gather information that will serve to inform a five-year action plan for HEIP.
The Hinterland Education Improvement Project (HEIP) consists of five components which are improving the quality of teacher education in the hinterland-aligning, teaching-learning resources to improve students’ outcomes, improving physical facilities, fostering community alliances and management and supervision in the hinterland.
During the three-day visit, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and senior officers from the Ministry visited St. Ignatius, Sand Creek, Macushi, Toka, Massara, Aranaputa, Annai and Wowetta communities in Region 9. More than 300 parents, teachers and students from Kumu, Kaicumbay, Arapaima, MocoMoco, Quarrie, Yupukari, Fly Hill, Katoka, Hiawa, St. Ignatius, Quatata, Nappi and Parishara turned out.
The Minister and team heard from the villagers, teachers, parents and students about how the delivery of education can be improved with a view to improving learning outcomes.
Regarding access to education and teacher training in the Hinterland, the Ministry recognises that more emphasis needs to be placed on the quality of education delivered in the Hinterland as a whole with specific attention being paid to learning outcomes.
HEIP was formulated to determine the gaps that exist in providing quality education and good learning outcomes.
Delivering remarks at the launch of HEIP, Minister Manickchand underscored that the unrivaled commitment of the Government towards the continuous improvement of the education sector, particularly within the hinterland regions.
“Throughout the years, the PPP-Civic administration has continuously made significant investments in the education sector in an effort to improve the quality of education we provide to children of this nation.
“Last year 15.9 percent of the national budget was spent on education. This year 13 percent has been allocated, and we most likely will be spending more than that on the sector this year,” the Minister said.
Focusing on the development of the sector in the hinterland regions, the Minister observed that during the past 20 years, the government has grappled with ways to reduce the disparity that existed between the hinterland and the coastal regions as it relates to education.
She said that through support from Government and international organisations, a number of programmes were launched, all of which had components that targeted hinterland regions, largely focusing on improving access and participation.
Some of these projects are Primary Education Improvement Project (PEIP); Secondary School Reform Programme (SSRP), for which St. Ignatius Secondary was a pilot; Guyana Basic Education Teacher Training Programme (GBETT); Basic Education Access Management Support (BEAMS) programme; and Education for All-Fast Track Initiatives (EFA-FTI).
The Minster said that as a result of the continuous efforts of the Government of Guyana in collaboration with the MOE, a number of key areas within the hinterland education establishment have significantly improved.
“In 1994, there were 131 schools across the levels in the hinterland regions. Today there are approximately 250 schools in the hinterland.”
The MOE through the Government and international support has since constructed more than 50 schools, half of which are in the hinterland regions.
“The School Feeding Programme (SFP) for hinterland schools was designed to improve attendance/participation in schools. As a consequence, student attendance increased from 64% in 1994 to 81% in 2014. Today, Region Nine is the only hinterland region with two types of SFP, the Hot-meal and Cassava-bread and Peanut butter snack.”
The Minister said that the number of trained teachers across all sectors within the hinterland area has increased moving from 40 percent in 1994 to 51 percent in 2014. Hinterland teachers were also supported through the establishment of learning resource centres.
“Teacher accommodation has also been addressed over the years. Since 2000 when only 15% of hinterland schools had teachers’ houses; today 90% of the schools have teachers’ houses,” the Minster said.
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