The Education Ministry recently inked an agreement with the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the ProFuturo Foundation which will see a digital learning platform being developed to bridge the technological gap between the coastal and the hinterland regions of Guyana.
According to the Ministry, the technical assistance cooperation agreement was signed on May 25, by Education Minister Nicolette Henry on behalf of Guyana; while Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the OAS, and Sofia Ferandez de Mesa, General Director of ProFuturo Foundation attached their signatures to the document.
Some 28 hinterland schools are set to benefit from the initiative which will provide training for 449 teachers as well as 5435 students attending primary schools. Guyana Times International was told that five Caribbean countries were chosen to benefit from the technical assistance agreement, however Guyana was the only country that met the necessary implementation criteria to launch the programme. The other states are likely to sign on to the agreement later on.
“ProFuturo is an education programme launched in 2016 by Telefónica Foundation and “La Caixa” Foundation, whose mission is to narrow the education gap in the world by providing quality digital education for children in vulnerable environments in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In line with Goal 4 of the United Nations’ 2030 sustainable development agenda on access to equitable and inclusive quality education for all,” the Ministry explained in a statement.
Minister Henry expressed gratitude on behalf of the Government for the technical assistance which will be used to advance digital education. She also highlighted the importance of the aid as she reminded that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is important if Guyana is to achieve equitable education, given its topographies.
Meanwhile Almagro from the OAS pointed out that Guyana is the first country in the Caribbean region to sign on to the cooperation agreement with Profuturo.
The General Secretary further noted that it is hoped that this serves as the impetus for other Caribbean countries, the Education Ministry statement said.
