Education Minister Priya Manickchand says that universal secondary education has been achieved in six of the country’s ten administrative regions.
She was speaking at the fortieth anniversary prayer brunch for the Caribbean Examinations Council on April 12 at the Umana Yana.
According to the Government Information Agency, Manickchand said that the 2013 budget allocation to the education sector will allow for achievement of universal secondary education in two additional Regions.
She listed regions 2,3,4,5,6 and 10 as the regions with universal secondary education. She also disclosed that because of Guyana’s location the Ministry is looking at how it can offer Portuguese as a subject from September.
At the event, Senior Assistant Registrar of CXC, Susan Giles highlighted that Guyanese students have been excelling at the examinations, especially in the national awards where students have been raking in the top honours.
According to GINA, Giles said that over the years Guyana has been committed to the programmes offered by CXC and was among the first countries to sign onto the CXC advanced proficiency programme in 1998.
Manickchand said that Guyanese students coming out on top in the CXC exams are as a result of the investments made by the government in the education sector. These include the continuation of the school feeding and the uniform assistance programmes and other initiatives including training for teachers, building schools and providing the necessary equipment and learning materials and have a long term foreseeable benefit to the students who will sit the CXC examinations in the years to come.
She emphasised that CXC might not be aware that most of the students who received the top prizes in Guyana are not necessarily from the wealthiest homes, and this is possibly one of the most distinctive changes with regards to the Guyanese CXC top performers.
She was quoted by GINA as saying, “Because of equal access, because of equity across the system, because of those deliberate policies to make sure children right across Guyana irrespective of what colour you are, or how wealthy your parents are or what school you’re from and which region you’re from – you could access quality education…you have seen how that has produced, over the years, top students from everywhere…we can no longer map where the top student is coming from.”
GINA said that the minister recognised that Guyana has more students sitting the CXC exams now than ever (over 13,000), an indication that the country is moving closer towards achieving universal secondary education.
She also announced that due to Guyana’s location, the ministry is examining how it could offer Portuguese as a subject from September.
