– as Region Five honours educators, top performers
Teaching is considered one of the noblest occupations in the world over, due to the role teachers play in the creation of a country’s manpower.
In recognition of the efforts made by educators, the regional administration of Region Five under the theme “Promoting Excellence” recognised those who have served the region for 30 years and more.
Some of the teachers have remained at the same school for their entire career, an indication that in some instances they have taught and positively impacted the lives of hundreds of families.
The activity which was held at the Regional Democratic Council office at Fort Wellington also saw the top performers of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and Caribbean Secondary Examination Council (CSEC) being awarded. Apart from those, special awards were also presented to teachers and students who participated in other activities such as debating competitions, a recipe competition for the nursery level, spelling bee, Information Communication Technologies (ICT) quiz and painting.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand noted that it is easy for people to criticise the education system, but solutions have not been forthcoming.
“This is one of the… most talked about sectors in the country, in any country the education sector attracts a lot of conversation, a lot of talk, a lot of criticism, a lot of praise, a lot of attention, and the reason for that is because this is perhaps the one single sector that is the most important that could make or break a country,” the minister said.
Partnership
She further stated that no person, factor or group of persons could make sure that the education sector is right; it depends on a partnership among the government, Education Ministry, school administration/teachers, parents and students.
The minister stressed that there are a lot of good teachers, but they are not always seen.
“We don’t have space for lazy teachers, but programmes like this today could help teachers emulate the people we are celebrating,” she said.
Based on the impact of teachers on the children they teach, the minister emphasised that teachers are the backbone of the education sector, and they inevitably have to decide what the education sector and Guyana would look like in 20 years, and that is a huge burden and responsibility. Minister Manickchand stressed that teachers will get the support and resources they need for this endeavour, and called on parents to be more involved in the education of their children. Students were urged to be disciplined, conscious of their role and give assistance to their peers.
Take-off
The minister highlighted that Region Five is poised for take-off educationally; this is much more evident with the upgrade of Rosignol and Bygeval secondary schools to A-List schools. Minister Manickchand explained that A-List schools speak to the quality of the education delivered, quality of teachers and the resources as against Grade A, which speaks to the number of children attending a particular school.
In this regard, the two schools received improvement in staffing, environment and infrastructure, at a cost of over Gy$24 million.
Regional Chairman Bindrabhan Bisnauth expressed satisfaction with the efforts of the teachers in the region, noting that they have made the region proud. The regional chairman also indicated that he expects the retired teachers to continue to contribute to the education system, and called on the students to keep up their good work.
Regional Education Officer Owen Pollard noted that with the two A-List schools, Bygeval and Rosignol secondary schools, the region would be able to shine, as previously the top performers were absorbed into schools in Regions Four and Six.
