“Government’s investment in education is paying dividends” – Harmon

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon on Saturday said that the billions of dollars which have been plugged into the education and Information Communication Technology (ICT) sectors by the Government are paying dividends as he congratulated the top 10 students of Region Three ( Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), all of whom have secured a spot at the nation’s premier secondary institution, Queen’s College.
Minister Harmon was at the time speaking at a simple ceremony organised by the Education Ministry at the Regional Education Office, Plantain Walk, West Bank Demerara (WBD), where the top 10 students received tokens for their outstanding performance.
Noting that the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) is a critical point in the promotion of learning at the primary level, Minister Harmon said that this assessment enabled the nation to identify the ‘cream of our human resource potential’ as a nation and served as the basis for the placement of students in the secondary school system, so that those with the acumen and ability could benefit from the best environment and facilities to forge ahead with their academic endeavours and educational development.
“This system, though not perfect, seeks to provide those with the potential and talent with the best opportunities and resources for continued success as they move from the primary to the secondary level of education. This assessment, albeit very important, is but one aspect of our Government’s wider perception of the role of education and its importance to national development.
“With regard to that wider perception, it is our conviction that the objective of creating a ‘green’ state and ‘green’ economy through the sustainable development of our vast resources for the benefit of all of our citizens and of providing a good life for all of our citizens can be achieved only by people with a first-class education. This has been emphasised by President David Granger,” he said.
The Minister added that this conviction could be discerned by the resources that the Government has allocated to education over the past three years and the efforts that have been made to improve the public education system with technology such as smart classrooms, ICT hubs and other such tangible projects.
He added that the aim was to modernise the education sector and improve the delivery of education in rural communities across Guyana, by making ICT available in classrooms.
Region Three, he noted, has not been left out of these developments. “For example, Zeeburg Secondary School and the [Saraswati Vidya Niketan] SVN Hindu School received $1 million each to boost their Science and Technology laboratories, while so far, 12 secondary schools and 27 primary schools have been provided with Internet service. In addition, 22 ICT hubs have been installed in communities in Region Three that will enable students without Internet access at home to complete research, assignments and other school-based activities,” the Minister of State is quoted by the Ministry of the Presidency as saying.
Meanwhile, Senior Education Officer at the Education Ministry, Carol Benn told the students that the opportunities before them were now boundless and they must ensure that they take advantage of these.
The students who received tokens were: Darren Ramphal of Leonora Primary School, who copped 522 marks; Saif Azeze from the Academy of Excellence (522 marks); Virendra Dookie, Leonora Primary School (521 marks); Devina Chan, Vreed-en-Hoop Primary (520 marks); Ziya Haniff, Vreed-en-Hoop Primary (519 marks); Haresh Persaud, Academy of Excellence (519 marks); Bhairav Hardat, Leonora Primary (518 marks); Narendra Maraj, Academy of Excellence (518 marks); Afiyah Harry, Academy of Excellence (518 marks) and Zackiea Ali, Meten-Meer-Zorg Islamic (518 marks).