Government fully recognizes the importance of the education system in transforming Guyana and eradicating poverty, hence it has been expending huge sums of money to modernise and expand education services to benefit all communities across Guyana in an equitable way.
According to the Government Information Agency (GINA), this unwavering commitment has seen Guyana reaching a stage where there is 90 per cent coverage at the pre-primary level, and nearly 100 per cent of same at the primary level of education, thereby meeting the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education.
With regards to the secondary level, every student who comes out of the primary school system is provided with a place within the secondary school system.
Education Minister Shaik Baksh said that, at the post-secondary level, “our technical institutes are providing more access for more and more students across Guyana.”
This year, two new technical institutes will be completed: at Mahaicony in Region Five, and at Leonora in Region Three. Minister Baksh pointed out that more needs to be done at the university level, and with the advent of the Education Television Broadcasting Service (ETBS), Channel 29/Cable 80, more persons across Guyana’s 10 administrative regions will be afforded opportunity to access tertiary education. “Our university must now take up that challenge to be able to produce programmes and advance the various courses from the different faculties at the university,” Minister Baksh urged.
With regards to Technology, the Education Ministry, through the Education Strategic Plan, will be ensuring 50 per cent coverage in terms of access to computers at the primary level by 2013; while all of the secondary schools and the technical institutes will be provided with fully-functional computer laboratories by the end of this year.
“This is an investment in the people of Guyana by the government of Guyana,” Minister Baksh pointed out. In terms of budgetary allocations to the sector, Guyana is among the leaders in the world, with 7.5 to 8 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) being invested in the education sector.
With regards to training for teachers, the minister said, a Teacher Reform Programme is well underway. More than 2000 teachers are presently being trained at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and at the University of Guyana’s School of Education. Additionally, 2000 teachers were trained at the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) in Information Communication Technology (ICT), and another 2000 are expected to be likewise trained this year.
