Education Ministry aiming to produce more rounded students

Aug 30, 2017 News

The Ministry of Education is aiming to produce more rounded students. This disclosure was recently amplified by Minister of Education, Ms. Nicolette Henry, and Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson.

Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry

The officials’ response in this regard was forthcoming as they commented on the fact that some schools lack the facilities to allow students to adequately indulge in subject areas such Physical Education and Sports and Music.
The students who have ready access to writing these subjects have been excelling. In fact, according to Minister Henry, among the 10 subjects where over 90 percent of students gained outstanding performances [Grades 1 – 3] at this year’s Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examination were: Music with a 100 percent pass rate, Theatre Arts also with a 100 percent pass rate and Physical Education and Sports, for which a 99.01 percent pass rate has been recorded.
But according to the Education Minister, the vision of her Ministry is to eventually ensure that there is universal access when it comes to offering these subject areas.
The Minister disclosed that while it is believed that subjects such as Physical Education and Sports are only offered in Georgetown, this is not the case since this, in addition to Theatre Arts, is offered in other school districts. She however added, “We recognise that not all schools in Georgetown are able to take those subjects at this point in time, and not all schools in the regions in Guyana are also able to take those subjects rights now.”
While it is the intention of the Ministry to ensure that all schools are offered these subjects, Minister Henry pointed out that getting to that point will in fact take time. “It is a process where we have to start with baby steps and then you get there.”
In fact, she noted that it is a deliberate mission of the government to ensure that the school system produces well rounded individuals. “You would recognise that in 2015 we took a position as a Government to ensure that there was very close and seamless alignment with sports and with culture, and it is for that reason that we now have a Ministry of Education with a Department of Culture, Youth and Sport, it is to provide that level of alignment in ensuring that we prepare rounded students who are globally competent,” Henry related.
But according to her, “at various levels it is a work in progress. It is eventually going to reach to every school and every child, but that is not something that happens in two years or three years or even five years, it takes much more time than that.’
Speaking on the issue too, Hutson said, “We are looking to incorporate sports at every level, the primary, the secondary level, and we have been working closely with the Department of Culture actually.”
In fact, he informed that there are a number of persons who are working closely with the education system to achieve the goal of rounded students.
“I can recall speaking to the Director of Sports [among others] and those persons are working assiduously to bring the programmes to all the schools. So this is an issue where schools will be timetabled…at this time we are [even] doing table tennis,” Hutson related, as he stressed “We are looking to create rounded children, that is why focus would have been placed on Music, Sports and so on, because we want to create rounded children.”
According to him, “at the end of the day we will get to very school and by extension every single child.”