Minister of Education Priya Manickchand on Wednesday commissioned a new wing at the L’Aventure Secondary School, Canal Number One Polder, West Bank Demerara.
Fire had destroyed a section of the school in September last year, displacing some 700 students who were offered accommodation at a property belonging to public-spirited citizen Komal Singh in order to continue their education while the wing was being rebuilt, a press release from GINA stated.
Manickchand presented Singh with a plaque in acknowledgement of his charitableness in accommodating the displaced students.
GINA noted that L’Aventure School was formally a primary top and under the Education Ministry’s Secondary School Reform Project (SSRP), was transformed into a secondary school.
The release said Manickchand highlighted that the growth of the school is testimony to the enormous success in the education sector over the past two decades.
She said that while a lot more needs to be done in the education sector, there are significant improvements and that the country is less than four years away from achieving universal secondary education, GINA stated.
However, while the infrastructure and other resources are being put in place, the Education Ministry is currently working on improving the quality of education delivered to the students and GINA said the minister emphasised the need for greater collaboration in this regard, and urged parents to “get on this train for quality education.”
“…It is easy to speak about the challenges …our education officers have to do more, our teachers have to do more, our parents have to do more. If you look at attendance it is not what we want it to be…we can build the schools, but if the children are not attending it wouldn’t make sense,” she was quoted as saying.
Over the next five years, the programmes and policies that are being implemented will be monitored and evaluated to determine how well they are working and the percentage results coming out of these programmes, the minister stated.
GINA said she further announced the impending introduction of a pilot programme at eight schools, aimed at introducing to students the use of technology which will see every Grade Seven child receiving an electronic tablet.
She urged the parents and teachers to collaborate with the ministry, and the students to work hard to ensure better results at Caribbean Examination Council examinations.
According to GINA, Regional Chairman Julius Faerber also expressed gratitude to Singh for accommodating the students, and urged them and the teachers to care the facility.
