National Youth Policy tabled in Parliament

As predicted by the Education Minister and the Head of State mid last month, the National Youth Policy has been finally laid in the National Assemble during the eleventh session of Parliament on Thursday.
Last month, President Granger when prompted for an update on the much anticipated National Youth Policy, had declared that the Education Ministry would be working to have the final draft of the document presented in Parliament by the end of the month.
Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine had additionally stated that the policy was undergoing final consultations and further modifications so that it would be effective in its purpose.
This had been demonstrated in Parliament as Minister within the Education Ministry, Department of Culture Youth and Sport, Nicolette Henry, tabled the final copy of the document.
The National Youth Policy returned to the front burner when the current Administration assumed office in May of 2015. Outlined in its manifesto, the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition Government had highlighted its intention of crafting the policy which would address trending issues among young people in Guyana.
This was however, not ‘original’ to Guyana as there had been talks of having a youth policy drafted over more than a decade.
The process of developing the policy had commenced in 1993, when the Ministry, with the support of the Commonwealth Youth Programme, contracted Sociologist Berkley Stewart, then Head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Guyana, to make a study and carry out consultations with a view to formulating a National Youth Policy.
During the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) tenure in office, it had started to draft the policy through a broad-based stakeholder approach, but this had never been taken to Parliament due to the 2015 elections and subsequent change of Government, which saw a new body taking on the task.
Part of the formulation of the National Youth Policy under this governing Administration entailed regional consultations between youths across Guyana who were engaged in discussions and decisionmaking on how the policy should be developed for the benefit of youths between the age group of 15-35 years.
A renewed energy was exerted by the present Administration in its aim to have the policy implemented under the grounds of addressing issues that hinder the growth and production of Guyanese youths, including crime and unemployment chiefly.
After more than a year of consultations and speculations by the public on whether or not the plan was forthcoming, the Government has expressed its readiness to kick-start the policy under a rigid and effective framework suited for the development of Guyanese youths.