Officials from the Education Ministry and other educational institutions in Guyana are placing more emphasis on the importance of education in the lives of students as well as the need for teachers to pay attention to the critical requirements for the creation of responsible citizens.
These issues were tackled at the educational leadership conference, hosted by the Education Ministry earlier this week, by three panellists – the Chief Education Officer, Marcel Hutson; Vice Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG) and
Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson
Marla Bernard.
The Chief Education Officer, during his remarks, stressed on the roles that education played in society, surpassing the acquisition of formal education. While being educated at the various levels, there are other qualities that should be inculcated, with teachers expected to exploit and develop these with their students.
“A critical role of education is that of socialisation. That has to do with training and teaching so that persons can actually develop the right kind of attitudes and behaviours that would actually pass the change that we want to see in society,” Hutson stated.
“It also has to do with fitting people into society so that they could be citizens that are responsible, citizens that are caring and citizens that are productive,” he added.
Furthermore, Professor Ivelaw Griffith addressed the room of educators from several administrative regions in Guyana, and explained that this could be acquired through modifications in the way formal classroom sessions were conducted, while establishing a sense that excellence should be the most important practice.
“So many of our students – whether primary, secondary or tertiary – come from circumstances where there are so many insufficiencies: rental, single parents, insufficient money (and) food and it is very often easy to be comfortable with just getting on. It is very easy to get by. Our responsibility is not to be in the mode of allowing ourselves to just be that ‘get by’. We need to be aspiring [to] excellence,” the Vice Chancellor said.
This, he stated, is one of the key values which will result in the production of good citizens of Guyana.
The panel of speakers was also engaged in discussion generated by questions from the various regional officers.
Furthermore, the educators were also briefed on other aspects of educational development, which they are expected to convey to other teachers of their respective regions. With a three-day workshop on formal training, which commenced on Monday, the Ministry is hoping that this will aid in the improvement of the quality of education in schools countrywide.
