All-day education channel for March launch – Baksh

The Education Ministry Multi-Media Centre, from which a 24-hour educational channel will operate, has already been established and staffed, Education Minister Shaik Baksh said on Friday.     

He said that the channel will become operational by March this year. The Multi-Media Centre was set up in the compound of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) located at Kingston. The centre aims to promote distance learning in the education system. Its main activity is the channel, which will cover the entire country.”It will be using satellite communication technology so all regions and all communities of Guyana will be covered. It’s an important development in the modernisation of our education system,” Baksh told a news conference.  

The satellite technology will allow not only schools, but also health centres to access the channel. “It’s an education revolution taking place in Guyana, in terms of technology-mediated information and dissemination, and we need to develop content,” he said. 

He noted that the ministry is also seeking to introduce distance learning in technical vocational programmes through this centre. He added that the centre will promote distance learning in secondary schools, as well as via the University of Guyana. “E-learning and other modes of programmes will have to be a reality here. We want technology mediators,” he noted. 

He pointed out that similar initiatives include the government’s “one laptop per family” programme, the establishment of computer laboratories in all secondary schools by the end of 2011, and the establishment of computer laboratories in primary schools. Sixty primary schools have computer labs, so far, and that number is expected to rise to 200 by 2013. 

Meanwhile, Baksh announced the ministry has implemented new strategies to have more teachers and welfare officers in hinterland areas. Baksh said that the ministry has made several efforts to get teachers to go into those areas, but efforts have failed to bear fruit, as teachers do not want to go into the hinterland. “The teachers don’t want to go; and not just the teachers, welfare officers, too… Region Eight, in particular, so we had to get new methods to have teachers available in those areas,” he said. Personnel are reluctant to go, Baksh believes, because of transportation issues. 

He stated that, in an effort to address this problem, the ministry has sought graduates from overseas who will be appointed as senior welfare officers in some hinterland areas early this New Year. The minister also said that, in the first quarter of 2011, the ministry is looking to train residents of those hinterland communities so that they will be able to stay there and serve their communities effectively. He said that the ministry will also be expanding their guidance and counselling centres early next year.  Efforts will also be made to dispatch one or two welfare officers to Region Eight, since this region is in need of such officers. 

The minister also outlined the successful mechanisms that are in place to ensure that delinquent behaviour in schools is stabilised. These included the hosting of a national symposium, and a guidance and mentoring programme where community members are engaged in mentoring students and bringing disobedient ones into line. 

Baksh added that the ministry is also looking to address security in schools, and a document is being prepared on how to promote security in schools. “To complement the work of school welfare departments, we want to have a system where technical persons can identify students at risk in school system regarding their absence and other such issues, so we can work with them,” he said.  

He pointed out that the technical programme offered in schools is also bearing fruit. This programme is geared towards helping students that do not have an aptitude for pure academics acquire life skills. “We have very good attendance. No students are dropping outs and we intend to improve and expand this programme next year,” he said.