As part of its commitment to have theatre and performing arts integrated into the secondary schools curriculum, the Department of Culture has selected five secondary schools in Region Three, Essequibo Islands-West Demerara, for the implementation of this programme beginning in September 2019.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) release, this announcement was made by the Director of Culture Tamika Boatswain, during a “Government Comes to You” outreach held in April at the Leonora Synthetic Track.
This disclosure by the Department of Culture follows an approach that was made to the agency by a teacher, Candacy Amsterdam, to have theatre and performing arts integrated into the secondary schools curriculum as a way of fostering more significant development and an appreciation among students.
Amsterdam, who has volunteered her services to teach theatre arts in schools after her involvement in the performing arts for some time, approached Director of Culture, Tamika Boatswain, with a detailed proposal which she believes can significantly impact the level and quality of inclusive education in Guyana.
“I feel strongly about theatre arts being taught in schools, especially to students within the region [Region 3] who should have the opportunity to choose the various disciplines under this programme,” Amsterdam explained.
The teacher recalled having a very fruitful conversation with the director and with the commitment made, stated that it will become beneficial to youth development as it will help to build character going forward.
“I have already spoken to relevant stakeholders about this initiative to see what can be done. Hopefully, we will be able to have this initiative on stream by September of this year,” Director Boatswain explained, adding that the proposal presented is a great one which will bring the coalition government one step closer to their goal of creating well-rounded individuals.
The DPI disclosed that more educational institutions will be selected to be a part of this initiative pending a favourable student response.
