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GGA President credits Minister Priya Manickchand for helping Golf’s growth
Minister of Education Priya Manickchand has been supporting GGA president Aleem Hussain and his vision to grow the sport in schools.
Kaieteur Sports – The Development of Golf in Guyana by Guyanese golfer, golf course designer/builder and Master Coach Aleem Hussain in partnership with the Ministry of Education, the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy started three years ago.
Hussain, who is the president of the Guyana Golf Association and Nexgen Golf Academy (previously president of the Lusignan Golf Course 2017-2020) credits the rapid growth of the sport to a shared vision with Minister Priya Manickchand.
Nexgen Golf Academy, is currently the only training facility in the country that is a certified LPGA/USGA Girls Site, offering opportunities and scholarships to young women and children.
However, what he’s most passionate about is the development of the sport amongst young players and changing the game to make it more accessible and affordable, introducing an innovative approach to shortening the game and playing at night similar to 20/20 cricket.
In less than two years, Nexgen Golf and Allied Arts has trained teachers in 8/10 regions on golf and in September 2023, the Priority Programme was introduced in Guyana’s Secondary schools and Golf quickly grew to be the sport of choice amongst learners.
By this time, results from CSEC had shown that over 300 students had taken Golf as their PE elective, achieving 100% pass rate with 93% at Grade I. By January 2024, with Grades 7-9 students in 38 schools participating in Golf, over 13,000 young students were actively engaged in a sport.
Additionally, Golf is now also being promoted to trainee teachers at the Cyril Potter College of Education so that every school in all regions would have access to a sport that was once reserved only for the elite.
Due to combined efforts, Guyana now has the largest school golf programme in the region with the highest pass rate at PE CSEC and with the emphasis on starting at Grades 7-9, it is evident that this programme has succeeded beyond expectations.
Additionally, golf has been introduced to Special Needs kids, Orphanages, Visually Challenged persons and even the Guyana Defense Force.
Through partnerships with a variety of sponsors and the Ministry of Tourism’s Guyana Tourism Authority, thousands of Guyanese are now able to experience Golf for the first time.
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