Guyana’s education system took another step forward with the Ministry of Education’s signing of a Statement of Endorsement of the Guyana Partnership Compact.
A Ministry of Education (MoE) release yesterday explained that the Partnership Compact aims to achieve improved quality, equitable participation, and achievement, in basic education for the sustainable development of Guyana. It added that specific attention is given to the multicultural diversity of Guyana, to promote the inclusion of all children living in urban, riverine or hinterland areas, children born in Guyana and migrants, or children with disabilities and ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all in Guyana.
The signatories to the Statement were MoE, Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The ceremony took place at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) and followed a two-day endorsement workshop which began yesterday.
According to the release, “The statement is a very general declaration and a symbolic act of public commitment to strengthen Guyana’s education system through compact support. With support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) funds, the Ministry of Education of Guyana is launching a system transformation reform to strengthen instructional leadership at district and school levels, and to promote equitable learning by strengthening culturally responsive and effective instructional leadership and improved accountability at district and school levels.”
Permanent Secretary of the MoE, Alfred King, in his remarks informed that the compact was developed by the local education group under the leadership of the Government of Guyana to address “key” constraints which affect the education sector. He added that it has been fully endorsed by local educators. “We also commit to mobilize and align available resources to successfully implement the priority reform and to be active participants in the monitoring and evaluation of the initiative.”
UNESCO-International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) Director, Jordon Naidoo, in his remarks said that the Institute was honoured to participate as a technical partner to advance the partnership compact. He assured that the IIEP is committed to supporting the achievement of the priority identified in the compact of strengthening culturally responsive leadership at the district and school level, as well as improving accountability as it is critical to the success of the transformation.
Global Partnership for Education Senior Education Specialist, Talia Miranda de Chaisemartin, remarked that the partnership compact will serve as Guyana’s game plan to implement culturally responsive instructional leadership, remove barriers and provide necessary conditions and support so that schools can better use the resources they receive and transform those into learning for all students.
UNICEF Deputy Representative for Guyana and Suriname, Irfan Akhtar, stressed the importance of UNICEF’s endorsement of the partnership compact. He opined that now is the time to ensure that the education system is “more inclusive, climate resilient and accessible to every child, everywhere.”
And the president of the GTU, Mark Lyte, expressed his support for the initiative and highlighted that it will have a great impact on the education sector. “This will see Guyana moving in the direction where children can benefit for the rest of their lives and can change the modalities which are seen around the world.”
The release also underscored that school head teachers and District Education Officers play a key leadership role and are key change agents in making sure that all children can benefit from quality education, to build their future.
