Former Chief Education Officer Olato Sam will be embracing a new role at the Ministry of Education.
He will serve as an Education Specialist in the Office of the Minister of Education.
A release yesterday from the Ministry of Education said that Sam is an educator, administrator and leader in the education fraternity with over twenty-five years of service in the field and has organized, directed and enhanced education systems, institutions, policy structures and programmes in various institutions. During his years in the sector, he has demonstrated success in programme management while keeping pace with educational innovations.
Sam holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Sociology, Anthropology and Education from Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania and a Master’s in International Education/ Concentration in Latin America and Caribbean Studies from New York University. He is now a PhD Candidate of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica where his thesis on Education Policy and Planning is under examination.
The release said that Sam began his career in education as a High School Teacher in 1991 at the Walton High School, Bronx New York, USA. In 1999 he became an elementary school teacher at the Our Lady of Grace Elementary School in the same district until 2002. He was also a graduate tutor at the New York University Metropolitan Centre for Education.
In 2007 he returned to Guyana as a Technical Advisor to the Minister of Education until 2010, and in 2011 to September 2016, he served as the Chief Education Officer (CEO) for the ministry.
During his tenure as CEO, Sam provided leadership to the professional arm of the Ministry, devised education policies in collaboration with the Minister of Education, Education Officers and other stakeholders. He provided technical guidance for the effective implementation of education policies in all learning institutions under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and represented the interests of the Ministry at various local and international forums.
Currently, Sam is a lecturer at the University of Guyana for the Masters in Education and Bachelors in Education programmes. He has served as Chairman of the Guyana School of Agriculture, commissioner on the Teaching Service Commission, a member of the Caribbean Examinations Council’s Final Awards Committee, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Cyril Potter College of Education, member of the CARICOM Taskforce on Teacher Education and Training, and as a member of the CARICOM Task Force on the Establishment of Teaching Councils.
The former CEO has authored several papers and made numerous presentations covering issues concerning the delivery of education.
Sam considers it an honour to be given the opportunity to serve Guyana in this new capacity. “As educators, it is always our desire to contribute to the development of our country. I have been fortunate to have served in various capacities within the system and this portfolio will facilitate that on a broader level. The Hon. Minister and the Government of Guyana have a vision for the education system in Guyana and I am excited to be able to contribute the skills and knowledge I possess to the realization of same.”
