International Day of Education: COVID-19 further highlights importance of education – CEO

…teamwork guided Guyana through the pandemic

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson has said it cemented the realisation of how important education is in the country, and the necessary mechanisms needed to ensure its sustainability.
His remarks came in celebration of International Day of Education 2022, under the banner: “Changing Course, Transforming Education”.

“The importance of education is so serious that an entire day has been earmarked to celebrate what we call International Day of Education by UNESCO. That day is so important to us in the Ministry of Education because we have learnt as a result of the pandemic how to actually work together to impact the education system. The pandemic was really a teaching experience for many of us in the Ministry of Education,” Dr Hutson outlined.
After the pandemic hit, he said collaborative efforts from education officials and other integral stakeholders led to continued efforts to engage children at all levels.
“We saw the importance of education officers, working together with all other stakeholders, which includes the Guyana Teachers’ Union, our teachers, parents, members of the business community. If we hadn’t this kind of collaboration and cooperation, I don’t see how we could have actually achieved what we have achieved.”
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed January 24 in celebration of the role of education for peace and development. It is said that without equitable, quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind.
The CEO noted that Guyana has since adopted several approaches to ensure that students remain engaged, preventing as little learning loss as possible.
He stated, “I could say that education has indeed been transformed as a result of teamwork and what the pandemic has done. We have seen now, more than ever, the establishment of so many systems outside of what we had before to capture our children and to deliver education in a more meaningful and significant manner. We are grateful for all our stakeholders and how they have participated in us being successful to some degree.”
The Education Ministry had implemented a blended method to address challenges of epidemiological patterns, internet access, and availability of resources through the usage of radio, the internet, the learning channel and work papers. In the hinterland regions, adequate workbooks and materials were provided where electricity and internet access are limited. Toolkits were also procured with added textbooks to distribute to students.
Meanwhile, the Human Services and Social Security Ministry also celebrated the day, highlighting its educational programmes to enable accessible education opportunities.
Through the WIIN programme, women and girls across the country have the opportunity to be trained in diverse areas including childcare, garment construction and ICT and can access these without any eligibility criteria.
Free training programmes are specifically designed for persons living with disabilities through the Ministry of Human Services including specialised ICT training, functional literacy, garment construction, sustainable farming and guidance counselling. The Storyboard Initiative launched last year, targeted vulnerable young women through a creative writing and literacy workshop.
“There should be no barrier to anyone wanting to access education and we are making that happen through innovative and encouraging initiatives. Education opens new doors and expands horizons so we continue to push [to] leap over the hurdles to make education accessible to all, irrespective of age, gender or circumstance,” the Ministry shared.