Migrating tertiary-educated Guyanese, a National Tragedy – Minister Roopnaraine

Jul 23, 2016 News

Minister of Education, Rupert Roopnaraine

The 2016 report by the World Bank on Migration and Remittances has shown that 93 per cent of all persons leaving Guyana have obtained a tertiary education. Minister of Education Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine considers this reality a national tragedy.
According to the Minister, it is an extremely painful fact the country has to deal with, whereby persons who would have been educated locally proceed to leave the country after graduating.
Dr. Roopnaraine said that there are several factors which can be responsible for persons leaving the country. According to him persons leave to obtain better remuneration, better working conditions and facilities.
He said that Government needs to try to stem the outflow of educated professionals, particularly those who leave due to elements which can be controlled and improved by the state.
Additionally, he said that there has to be improvements not only financially but also an upgrade of non-financial incentives offered to workers. He said that there needs to be an improvement of the total employment package which is being offered to people.
The Education Minister is of the view that if an examination into the issue is done it may very well show that there are other factors unrelated to working conditions that are responsible for persons making the decision to leave.
He opined that in some cases persons leave for health reasons or to reside with their family members.
On the issue of trained teachers leaving the country the Minister said that it is disheartening to see teachers trained at the Cyril Potter College of Education leave to go to the Bahamas for work.
At a recent press conference held at Freedom House, People’s Progressive Party Civic member Gail Teixiera said that during her party’s time in office there was a programme conducted which revealed that there was a skills mismatch within the country.
She said that this was done by the National Working Group on Public Private Partnership for the Millennium Development Goals. The group was a partnership between the government, private sector and educational institutions.
When asked if this would still be a viable path for the present administration to take on, Minister Roopnaraine said that it makes good sense. He said that the issue is not simply a ministerial problem but would require the input from all stakeholders to come up with a strategic plan to remedy the problem.

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