The gardening contest will be followed by a students’ rally from Parade Ground to Queen’s College the next day, the ministry said in a press release. On the same day, Minister of Education Shaik Baksh will deliver a message to stakeholders and he will also make separate addresses to the nation on International Literacy Day, to be observed on September 8, and on World Teachers’ Day, on October 5.
The roster of activities for the month includes several quiz competitions, the launching of book clubs and the donation of books to children from September 5 to September 9. In addition, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company will launch a national spelling bee competition on September 12, to be followed by the Guyanese Assisting in Development (GUYAID) essay competition awards ceremony on September 15, the launching of a national science and technology fair and symposium on September 16 and the staging of an exhibition, titled ‘Science and Technology at work’ at primary and secondary schools on September 24. On September 27, Georgetown students who secured a 98% attendance rate last year will be presented with certificates and trophies. The JOF Haynes Debating competition will be launched the next day, and on October 2, the Allied Arts Unit will host a steel band exhibition and choir. The activities for the month will c
ulminate with the National Award Ceremony at the National Cultural Centre on October 5.
This year, Education Month will be observed under the theme “Transforming Guyana through Science and Technology in Education,” the release said. Information Communication Technology, it noted, is a major plank of the ministry’s 2008-2013 Education Strategic Plan, which focuses on equipping some 2,000 teachers across the country with the skills to use the computer and to utilise it as a classroom teaching aid. This programme is being implemented under a US$2.4M World Bank-funded Teacher Reform Project, where high-tech laboratories will be built at the Cyril Potter College of Education and in the School of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana.
