Education Ministry records notable success at Half-Year

Sep 11, 2022 News

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[Social Edge]

• $2.3 spent on improving infrastructure of education facilities
• 1,151 teachers trained on use of the renewed curriculum
• 10,025 pupils to benefit from breakfast programme for the first time
• 4,500 online scholarships awarded under the GOAL programme
• design of Guyana Technical Training College commences

By Kiana Wilburg

Kaieteur News – An examination of the government 2022 Mid-Year Report revealed that under the stewardship of Minister Priya Manickchand, the country is not only on its way to building a world-class education system but has made notable achievements towards fortifying our stock of human capital.

According to the report, the Education Ministry expended $32.2 billion from the $74.4 billion budgeted for 2022.

Of the $6.6 billion allocated for improving the infrastructure of education facilities, the report states that a sum of $2.3 billion was spent during the first half of the year. The Waterfalls understands that the construction of primary schools commenced at Karabairu and Bamia/Amelia’s Ward and is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 and 2023, respectively. Further, works are ongoing to construct nursery schools at Haslington and Vryheid Lust, and primary schools at Kaikan and Oronoque.

It is also anticipated that the construction of the Linden Technical Institute dormitory that will house 75 male and 75 female students will be completed by the end of the year. Additionally, contracts were awarded for the construction of a primary school at Zeelugt and a nursery school at Hydronie, which will commence in the second half of the year. The construction of the North Ruimveldt and Northwest secondary schools is expected to commence in the second half of 2022, while the evaluation of designs to construct Prospect Secondary School will be completed in the third quarter of the year.

During the review period, The Waterfalls also understands that 1,151 teachers were trained on the use of the renewed curriculum at the primary level which aims to promote greater inclusivity by considering the unique qualities and varied abilities of each child. It is expected that the curricula for Grades One through Four will be expanded to all schools in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10 and Georgetown in the first phase of the national roll-out slated for the 2022-2023 academic year, while the second phase will occur during the 2023-2024 academic year for Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9.

In keeping with the government’s aim of improving attendance and reducing school dropout rates, financial support to families of schoolchildren in the form of the ‘Because We Care’ cash grant increased from $15,000 to $25,000, and the school uniform supplies grant from $4,000 to $5,000 in 2022. This will see each child across the public and private schools, receiving a cash grant totalling $30,000. It is expected that more than 184,000 public school students will benefit from this initiative at a cost of $5.5 billion, while over 18,000 private school students will benefit at a cost of over $540 million.

During the period January to June 2022, The Waterfalls understands that a total of $701.9 million of the budgeted $2 billion was expended for the national school feeding programme to provide juice and biscuits to 41,886 pupils and hot meals to 27,379 pupils across the country. With effect from September 2022, 10,025 Grade six pupils from 245 primary schools will also benefit from breakfast for the first time, at a cost of $190.7 million. Additionally, the Carnegie School of Home Economics was engaged to compile a culinary book of recipes to support the piloted home-grown school feeding programme in Regions Five and Nine. The recipes developed are based on the current food basket in each region and aim to improve the nutrition of school-aged children while adding value to the disposable income of farmers.

Furthermore, the 2022 Mid-Year report states that efforts to incorporate Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the education sector resulted in the procurement of 3,750 tablets for delivery by September 2022, and an additional 7,250 tablets are expected to be delivered by the last quarter, which will achieve the target of providing 11,000 tablets loaded with teaching materials for students by the end of the year. Also, over 425 laptops and computing devices for teachers will be distributed in the second half of the year, to facilitate the roll-out of the Education Management Information System (EMIS). It was explained that the ICT and EMIS implementation will provide real-time information and statistics for more effective planning, monitoring, and supervision of schools. As Government seeks to increase access to learning resources for improved student performance, by the end of 2022, it was explained that every student from Grades 7 through 13 will have the required Mathematics, English Literature and English Language textbooks.

Additionally, 108 primary schools will also benefit from 3,000 micro-science kits which will realise 100 percent primary coverage.

Additionally, this publication understands that initiatives to increase the number of trained teachers included the screening of more than 4,000 applicants to commence studies at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) during the review period. Of the $200 million budgeted to provide stipends to trainee teachers, $70.9 million was paid to 928 pre-service students for the first half of the year, while the remainder will be paid in the second half of the year to the continuing and prospective students. Further, after two years of being closed due to the pandemic, the dormitories at the CPCE Turkeyen Campus were opened in June 2022 to accommodate 102 hinterland students for face-to-face interaction that complements the online training platform.

In the first half of 2022, the University of Guyana expended $1.7 billion of the $3.5 billion allocated for its operations and additional courses offered. Currently, the majority of the courses offered by the facility are online, with 60 percent fully virtual, 20 percent face-to-face, and 20 percent with hybrid options.

Within the $1.3 billion allocated to provide an additional 4,500 online scholarships under the GOAL programme, resources were utilised in the first half the year to finance the 2,002 continuing students, as well as the granting of 4,250 scholarships for 2022. Additionally, A Get Ready for Opportunity to Work (GROW) project was also launched to distribute 4,000 scholarships to persons who did not complete their secondary education. It was noted that these persons will have the opportunity to obtain a General Educational Development diploma or a Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework diploma in order to secure a job. At the end of the training, government said it will implement tracer studies to assess entry into the labour force.

But the accomplishments don’t stop there. In first half of 2022, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme, expended the sum of $744.5 million of the $2.5 billion allocated, to benefit approximately 4,183 persons. A total of 119 students from nine secondary schools were also identified to complete four Level One Caribbean Vocational Qualification programmes in the third quarter of this year, in the areas of commercial food preparation, crops and soils, fabric decoration, and furniture making. These programmes will be extended to additional students in secondary schools from September 2022.

Further, the design of the Guyana Technical Training College commenced and will include the GuySuCo Training School at Port Mourant that will provide additional facilities for training programmes in collaboration with the private sector. The location for this college has been identified and construction will commence in the second half of the year.

In the period of review, the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) spent $187.9 million of its $448.5 million allocation to provide skills training to a total of 2,166 persons in 34 skills areas and another 2,847 persons are expected to be trained in the second half. Additionally, the Carnegie School of Home Economics trained 61 males and 910 females in areas of general cosmetology, interior decoration, and commercial food preparation among others, and anticipate training of 650 persons in the second half of the year.

Further, 285 persons graduated under the Women Innovation and Investment Network initiative in the first half of the year, and 2,715 women and girls are expected to start courses in the second half of the year. It is also anticipated that 1,175 persons will be trained under the National Youth Programme in areas of carpentry, masonry, plumbing, electrical installation, welding, and fabrication works at the Kuru Kuru, Sophia, and Vryman’s Erven Training Centres, while 70 persons will be trained in block-making under the Ministry of Housing and Water’s community-based Employment Stimulation Project in the second half of the year.

While these are less than a handful of the achievements of the Education sector at half year, it is without question, one of the most promising developments and success stories of our economy.

Though there is always room for improvement, one must say hats off to Education Minister, Priya Manickchand for her stellar leadership in the sector.

 

 

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