Ministry places enhanced hinterland education on front burner

Jul 30, 2014 News

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By Sharmain Grainger

Hearing from community members has long been the strategy adopted by the Ministry of Education ahead of implementing necessary changes in the sector. This notion was particularly amplified yesterday by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, as she addressed a gathering of stakeholders at the Bartica Secondary School in Region Seven.
The intent of yesterday’s meeting was to solicit the support of the stakeholders to help plot the way forward for the introduction of a Hinterland Education Improving Programme (HEIP). The project is therefore designed to cater to schools in the hinterland regions of One, Seven, Eight and Nine.
HEIP will be implemented over a five-year period and will incorporate a number of aspects including: improvement of the quality of teacher education, alignment of the teaching-learning resources to improve students’ outcomes, improving of physical facilities, fostering of community alliances and the strengthening of management and supervision.
Minister Manickchand who engaged the stakeholders (who travelled from various communities within the Region) in a very interactive session, was accompanied by senior officers from her Ministry. A number of senior regional officials also attended the forum.
Chairing the session yesterday was Assistant Chief Education Officer (Secondary), Ms Doodmattie Singh, who noted that over the years the Education Ministry has been working tirelessly to improve education in the hinterland areas. In so doing, she pointed out, a number of schools were built in communities where there were none, thereby allowing for equity in the delivery of education at the various levels.
But it was Minister Manickchand, ahead of soliciting comments from the gathering, who traced the development of the sector over the past few years ranging from improved facilities to an increase in trained teachers. The evident development, she outlined, has thus allowed for better performances at every level of education, which according to the Minister, is realized primarily through consistent investment.
“We have moved from a dilapidated state to where your children have hope,” said the Minister as she disclosed that Region Seven has been recorded as the most improved performing Region for the past two years, with improved performances at the National Grade Six Assessment for the past five years.
This the Minister linked to the fact that “We have given them the resources – classrooms, exercise and text books, improved facilities and trained teachers…”
However, she acknowledged that “we know however that there are gaps and we want to fix those.”
And addressing the gaps, the Minister said, can only be done through consultations with stakeholders. “All the research in the world says to us that the only way the world can improve individual circumstances, transform communities, and develop countries is if we invest in and make sure our people are educated….There are no short cuts” hence the need for consultations to decide how best efforts can be made to ensure that “our children throughout the country get a sound, solid education”.
Speaking directly to the development of education in the hinterland, the Minister alluded to the fact that 20 years ago there were only 131 schools across levels in the hinterland. However, deliberate efforts to improve this state of affairs have allowed for the establishment of 250 such schools, the Minister said. And according to her, approximately 59 of these institutions are in Region Seven alone.
But in order to improve on the gains made, stakeholders yesterday highlighted, among other issues, the need for the Education Ministry to mandate trained teachers to serve the Region at least two years after completing their studies. This was highlighted, reportedly because of the fact that trained teachers, after qualifying themselves at the Cyril Potter College of Education and the University of Guyana, are not opting to return to teach in the Region. It was also recommended that parents, particularly in the Bartica community, seek to be more involved in the educational process of their children.
In fact it was speculated that the economic status of the community, which is driven by mining activities, has left some persons disinterested in the importance of a sound education.
A variety of suggestions were carefully noted by the Minister and her team, and assurance was given that action will be taken to help address the shortcomings highlighted.
During yesterday’s forum, Minister Manickchand also continued her national discussion on the Government-assured $10,000 cash grant which is intended to aid the schooling needs of each child registered at a public school.
The parents in attendance yesterday agreed to uplift their cash grant through the Western Union service in the community and some were keen on finding out exactly when the financial support will become payable.
According to the Minister, since her officials will be required to enter into a database all of the names of children registered at the various public schools, which is expected to be a lengthy process, it is anticipated that the grant will be payable by mid-October.
Minister Manickchand and her team are expected to continue consultations in Kamarang, on Sunday.

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