Guyanese teachers complete Canadian University management course

Guyanese teachers/administrators of several institutions have completed the ‘Principles and Practices of Educational Institutional Management’ course offered by the University of New Brunswick (UNB), in Canada through collaboration with the Ministry of Education and the World Bank as part of the Guyana Improving Teacher Education Project (GITEP).
Teachers of the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE), the University of Guyana (UG), and the Institute of Distance and Continuing Education (IDCE) were presented certificates recently by representatives of the UNB at CPCE, Liliendaal.
The course, which started in November 2012 and concluded recently, was aimed at strengthening management practices, building capacity of teachers, and also sharpening classroom teaching. This is the third and final session of the course that was successfully completed.
CPCE’s Principal, Deborah Thomas, said that the exercise has not only provided a higher level of tuition, but it will allow the participants to explore and introduce new projects in a manner in which the curriculum is being delivered and evaluated.
Director of the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) Jennifer Cumberbatch, said that the role of leadership has become increasingly important, and highlighted that running an institution is a great responsibility. The education system, she said, needs managers that are skilled and educated.
In emphasising that they are “change agents”, she spoke of their many responsibilities, and urged that teachers use innovative ways to ensure that children learn and that they should always be meaningful in their teaching.
Project Coordinator of the GITEP, Tota Mangar, giving an overview of the course said the University of New Brunswick was awarded the consultancy through a thorough assessment by the graduation panel and also the role played by the tender board administration and the World Bank in giving no objection. The university was tasked with the design and administration of a partly online institution management course for the administrators.
In November 2012, the team made an inception visit and interviewed administrators at CPCE, its satellite centres at New Amsterdam, Vreed-en-Hoop, Linden and Anna Regina and also UG, following which a customised management course which was seen as appropriate and supporting local needs, evolved.
This was followed by three sets of face-to-face meetings and in between online directions. The first face-to-face session took place at the end of November 2012. That was followed by another in January 2013 and the final round ended recently. In addition, they also benefitted from online instructions.
“At each face-to-face session participants were presented with instructional kits to guide them along, and towards the end of the course, the groups presented their management projects, and these were evaluated by the UNB team,” Mangar said.
Teachers feel strongly that this consultancy will certainly lead to strengthened management capacity of administrators, while at the same time contribute to the building of human resources and institutional strengthening at CPCE, Mangar said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ann Sherman, Dean of the Faculty of Education, UNB said the University has done such courses in many other countries where the educators are always thinking about how to make schooling better for  teachers.
“We feel that this project has been a success certainly for us. We have gotten to know the context of schooling in Guyana very well, which has really added to our knowledge… we focused on leadership. I think our real concern is always for the children in schools no matter what country we’re working in, but research has shown over and over in Guyana that unless there is leadership in schools, and the leadership in the teachers’ preparation programme are really in touch with thinking about education, nothing different will happen in schools.”
The Canadian University also donated 12 boxes of books valued Gy$1.5M to CPCE and UG for the teachers’ use. (GINA)