“Time to move beyond traditional economies” – Education Minister

Mar 31, 2015 News

---

–  Monitoring of STI policies seen as key
As a three-day workshop on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) was launched by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNESCO, the importance of moving beyond traditional economies to “new, dynamic ones” was highlighted as a necessity for the success of the STI field in Guyana.

The workshop, which kicked off yesterday at the Grand Coastal Inn, will see lengthy discussions on policy and indicators for STI. The Office of the President is also a key institute working along on the workshop.
During the workshop’s opening ceremony, Minister of Education Dr. Priya Manickchand said that Guyana is at a crossroad in getting the population to understand that progress can only be achieved if traditional means of educating people are moved past.
Manickchand said that this need had long been recognised on a policy level. However, she said, translating this understanding to the relevant stakeholders in the population is a work in progress.
“I think it would be fair to say that across the world it’s a work in progress where we’re trying to get the world to understand that traditional methods and traditional economies are not going to suffice in this new, dynamic world,” Manickchand opined.
Further, the Education Minister said that her ministry was pleased to be the host of the UNESCO workshop. However, though she expressed pleasure, Manickchand emphasised that she was not surprised that Guyana was chosen by UNESCO.
According to the minister, Guyana has taken leadership in the STI field by using the country’s natural resources scientifically to match economic needs.
“We have been remarkable in leading across the world and in showing how you can use what you have in a scientific way to meet economic needs and demands of a population,” Dr. Manickchand said. She continued, “We are a good example of how largeness or size and GDP really doesn’t matter in how we can contribute and we’ve been a great leader across the world; people are still using us as an example.”
Manickchand said too that Guyana’s leadership did not happen “by accident”. She said that the position was achieved through a conscious decision by the Government of Guyana to make STI an integral part of the education system. She added that STI was present from the nursery level all the way to the tertiary level.
“If you look at the policies that have been implemented across the board, you would see that there is a conscious and strategic move to make us more conscious of the value of investing in this area,” she said.
Meanwhile, the importance of monitoring policies was also highlighted as one of the necessities for the success of STI policies.
Martin Schaaper of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) recognised STI as one of the main drives for economic growth across the world. Schaaper said that a recent perusal of Guyana’s STI policy indicated the need for a more evidence-based or science-based country. He said too, that there are “lots of plans and policies that need to be set in place”. However, Schaaper said, these policies could only work if adequate monitoring mechanisms are established.
“You can only know if you’re being effective – if you’re reaching your objectives – if you also monitor the policies,” Schaaper noted.
He went on to say that UNESCO was aiding Guyana in the recognition of its STI goals. He added that UNESCO strongly believed in evidence-based policies.
The UIS representative said that there are a range of indicators that can be used to mold policies and over the course of the workshop these indicators will be presented and analysed. “The objective of this workshop is to give you an introduction to these indicators and tell you how you can reflect these indicators,” Schaaper said. He continued, “I think it is important to know where you are so you know where you’re going and you can track if you’re going there.”
Similarly, Manickchand emphasised the importance of monitoring established policies.
“We are happy that this particular workshop deals with indicators. We find that in Guyana…that the weakest part of most policies is monitoring, evaluating and determining where we are mid-policy and regarding meeting the indicators,” Manickchand said.
The three-day workshop is a Ministry of Education and an Office of the President initiative and was supported by UNESCO. The workshop is aimed at linking Guyana’s policies with STI indicators. UNESCO has supported the development of the National Science Technology and Innovation Strategy for Guyana during the years 2009 to 2011. This policy was recently approved by the Government of Guyana. The re-establishment of a National Science and Technology Council forms part of the implementation of the policy.
For a number of years, UNESCO has provided funding in excess of US$500,000.
Ernesto Polcuch of UNESCO’s Montevideo office expressed hope that the organisation would not simply be viewed as a beam of support, but rather a partner for the sharing of expertise and dialogue.
He emphasised that the workshop was an opportunity for Guyana and UNESCO to work together. He further said that the workshop was timely since oftentimes it is difficult for UNESCO to adequately establish dialogue with all of the 33 countries they serve in the region.
Finally, he said, the established policies should be viewed as a “living document” and should be used to achieve new goals along with existing ones. He added that the job does not conclude at the end of the workshop on Wednesday but rather that there will be need for follow up.

---

---