Education in crisis, Govt cannot skimp on spending – Roopnaraine

Education in Guyana is in crisis and, as such, the Administration cannot skimp in its spending on the sector – which is to receive the largest share of the 2017 0 billion Budget.
This was the assertion by Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, who in his presentation on the 2017 estimates during the Budget debate on Tuesday, told the House that the allocation of some billion, 17 per cent of the total allocation, is testament to the commitment of the Administration in addressing the challenges in the sector.

According to Dr Roopnaraine, there are things institutionally wrong with the education system that must be fixed, so the investments must be made.
The Education Minister told the House that come next year the Ministry would continue with its commitment to improve the administration of the education sector. The Ministry is in fact looking to set the benchmark for the private educational facilities across the country.
He spoke to a three-pronged approach on the part of the Ministry to enhance the sector. Dr Roopnaraine reminded that when he had taken office, he had spoken to the need for evidence-based interventions in stemming the dire situation that plagues the sector.
According to Dr Roopnaraine, the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the education sector will be wrapping up by the end of the year, with the findings being made public by the end of the first quarter of the upcoming year.
He stressed that education was not an area that should be targeted for politicking and partisanship, and instead encouraged meaningful and constructive interventions, which he said he would be receptive to.
The Minister said if any lessons could be learnt from the past year, it was the need for greater collaboration with all stakeholders, including parents, in order to craft holistic solutions to address the complex challenges facing the education sector.
Opposition Member of Parliament, Dr Frank Anthony, in offering a rebuttal to the Education Minister, said while he was happy to see Government continue the tradition of investing in education, there were no concrete plans outlined by the Education Minister.
Dr Anthony recalled that all and sundry have been lectured about the serious problems facing the sector, particularly with Mathematics and science, “and I would have liked to hear a little more about what concrete steps would have been taken to alleviate this problem”.
He said what the House was in fact treated to was generalised statements by the Education Minster but nothing concrete.
“If we don’t get concrete solutions, we won’t solve the problem,” Dr Anthony noted.
The Education Minister’s presentation was, however, not completely devoid of plans for the upcoming year in addition to rehashing some of the achievements of the sector in the past year.
He told the House the Education Ministry would, in the coming year, expend some $3.5 billion on the rehabilitation of and construction of new schools in addition to improved teaching quarters.
Dr Roopnaraine informed the House too that Government would be looking to create greater access to recreational grounds for schools individually or in a collective.
He added that in 2017, utilising the Yesu Persaud endowment, a facility for the provision of clinical services would be annexed at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
The Minister spoke too to the upgrades for the University of Guyana, including the construction of a brand new lecture theatre in addition to improvements in the Bachelor’s Degree programmes being offered at the nation’s premier tertiary education provider. (Gary Eleazar)