Focus on training teachers as ministry zeroes in on quality education

Within the next five years, 80% of all teachers will be trained, Minister of Education Priya Manickchand said, highlighting that the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) has been turning out increasingly large numbers of trained teachers, with the highest number graduating last year.

Additionally, within the last two years the ministry introduced the Associate Degree in Education (ADE) programme at the University of Guyana, which over time will see more teachers becoming graduate teachers. Manickchand said the ministry hopes that graduate status for teachers and by extension their personal improvement will see more expertise in the classroom.

Manickchand said the ministry had opportunities to measure its progress by looking at the academic results of students at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), and the Caribbean Exami-nations Council (CXC), both at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean

From left Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, centre MOE PS Delma Nedd and right CEO Olato Sam.
From left Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, centre MOE PS Delma Nedd and right CEO Olato Sam.

Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) levels. “The results have been very encouraging, we are doing — at every single level — better than we have ever done as a country,” she said, though carefully noting that there are exceptions.

She reiterated an earlier position that Guyana’s education sector is at the best place it’s ever been, regarding pass rates in Mathematics, English, Social Studies and Science among other academic courses.

However, she said that though the ministry was pleased to have managed to stabilise some of Guyana’s results, it was not entirely happy with them and more needed to be done.

As regards quality of education delivered, Manickchand noted that Guyana has achieved universal (100%) access in primary education (ages 6 to 12).

According to the minister, now that the uphill task of getting children into the classroom has been conquered, the focus is on ensuring quality education is delivered.

She said the ministry needs to ensure better monitoring is done, if that objective is to be realised.

According to the minister, Guyana isn’t the only country struggling to accomplish that objective. She said that the new world conversation has shifted from access to education to quality education. Guyana she continued “is poised to discuss and pursue quality, because we have achieved access.”

Turning to extra-curricular activities, she said there have been changes in the lives of children who have been exposed to such activities. The minister stated that the MOE has embarked on introducing steel pans in certain schools where it was felt the students needed more stability.

Some of those children, she said, played carols and other Christmas music over the Christmas holidays at different points in Georgetown and did so excellently.

Meanwhile she also announced that on the ministry’s agenda for 2014, is the strengthening of the debating capacity of students. “We believe that a rounded education is important,” Manickchand declared.

“We have a duty to not only teach children how to write an exam and the contents that will turn up in those exams, but how to think critically and [present] those views sensibly.”