Govt gives financial support to US-based Guyanese educator’s summer programme

The Government in a move to bolster student’s education on Monday donated a total of $200,000 towards the graduation ceremony of the programme. The programme is being facilitated by US-based Guyanese educator Tessa Webb-Lewis.
Lewis noted that there have been poor performances in the area of mathematics among youths in the country. In fact, at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) the mathematics pass rate last year was 38.87 per cent. This year, there was a slight improvement which was 40.36 per cent of students passing the subject. However, Webb-Lewis noted that more work must be done in this regard. She revealed that this year’s version of her summer learning programme is tailored to specifically bolster students’ math’s capability.
“This programme is really an initiative where I wanted to really come back and assist with the development of learning, children’s learning, particularly in mathematics, because what I’ve noticed that as a math professional, I noticed that so many students are falling behind in mathematics. And so while the programme is aimed at developing mathematics, reading, writing, as well as arts and crafts, we want to be focused mainly a lot in mathematics as well, because that’s where most of our students are having difficulty,” she stated.
Moreover Webb-Lewis revealed that the programme which was first introduced virtually last year has seen a significant increase in participation.
“And, you know, I worked with math. I engaged another teacher for language arts. And we came together and we did a wonderful job, I must say, with the children. By all feedback from parents. And that is what gave me the momentum to continue until today. Here we are, 2024, and now I’m hosting a summer programme with 104 students. Last year we had 50. And this year we doubled, over double the amount” she stated.
Additionally, the educator revealed that with the rapid technological development which is being seen globally, she plans on integrating AI into next year’s programme to further bolster the programme’s effectiveness.
“With bigger and better things. One of my focuses for next year would be integrating technology. Because we see our kids, we’re working with chalkboard and just pencil and paper. But we know what age you’re in. With the age of AI, artificial intelligence, we don’t want our kids to be left behind. So, I think it’s critical at this point for our kids to be using technology as well. So probably if we have a smart board and some tablets, that would be awesome, and the government has been doing that. Over 15 smart classrooms that the government has implemented in several secondary schools across the country” she stated.
Meanwhile, in an effort to support the programme minister within the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Public Affairs, Kwame McCoy has donated a total of $200,000 towards the programme’s graduation ceremony on behalf of the government. He further reaffirmed the government’s commitment towards investing in education.
“But the education budget was just about $52 billion, a lot of money but much more now at a $135 billion dollars so you see how much more money the government has taken it up from 52 to $135 billion” he stated.
The classes started on July 15 and will end on August ninth. This year’s programme has been expanded to accommodate 100 learners from Victoria, Bachelor’s Adventure, and surrounding communities.