UG completes Phase 1 of Train the Trainers programme for Police Academy

The University of Guyana (UG) through its Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Learning (CoETal) under a Guyana Police Force – University of Guyana multi-year agreement completed Phase One of a Train the Trainers programme for the re-tooling of the Police Academy.
The programme, which was chaired by UG’s Director of Events, Conferences, and Communication, Jainarine Deonauth, was launched on February 28, 2022, and saw 75 Police Training Officers being equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge in pedagogy and andragogy.

The Train the Trainers course commenced on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, and ran for two weeks. The course consisted of 13 modules. Each module provided trainers with a range of knowledge, skills, and competencies related to instructional design, instructional delivery, and assessment – both face-to-face and online. The course aimed to increase the teaching repertoire and build the teaching capacity of the GPF trainers, providing them with strategies, concepts, knowledge, and skills that they can implement in the classroom.
At the launch of the programme, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Paloma Mohamed Martin expressed profound gratitude to the GPF for entrusting UG with conducting such training with its officers.
“Our growing partnership marks the beginning of many of the training programmes we will work with for the Force. This is a training programme we’ve taken very, very seriously; the role that has been given to us as the nation’s State university and also looking at the entire state of the art of what Guyana is likely to have to deal with in the future and understanding that security, safety, and resilience are the centre of anything that we have to do for securing our future,” the Vice-Chancellor posited.
Further, the Vice-Chancellor gave kudos to the GPF for pushing and piloting this initiative. Professor Mohamed Martin said, “When we work to train human beings and to give them the skills, attitudes, belief systems, structures, and other tools and techniques that they need to grow, we are really making a huge investment not only in our lifetime for ourselves but also in the nation’s future. So, I really wish to commend the senior administration of the Police Force.”
Deputy Commissioner (Administration) (ag), Calvin Brutus, who is in charge of training and development at the GPF noted “It is imperative that we have a cadre of trained instructors to deliver the modules to our policemen and women. We are working on improving our training as we have recently gotten the approval to recruit and train 700 new members for the Guyana Police Force”.
Providing an overview of why the course is fundamental to the development of the GPF, Brutus noted, “Training is critical because it drives the direction of the Force, it improves the security for the members of the country and it improves our working relationship with each other. But, more importantly, at the end of it, we expect that members of the Force who depart the organisation will have life skills that they can use beyond the Guyana Police Force and be productive citizens to build our country”.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Engagement) of the University of Guyana, Professor Emanuel Cummings explained that it was an excellent initiative for the University and GPF to collaborate on the project.
“Our institution is not here just to provide four or five-year programmes in degrees but also to offer short-term courses that are relevant, that will create an opportunity for the GPF and security forces in general.”
“Deputy Commissioner, I applaud you, that you were able to have discussions with the wider University community that has brought us to this juncture… This course will certainly help your trainers to develop and to deliver quality education and quality training programmes to your recruits. And by extension, help them to be better prepared to deliver effective services in the security system,” Cummings related.
The development and design team was led by UG’s Director of CoETal, Dr Charmaine Bissessar. She led other experts from the University of Guyana – Dr Tamashwar Budhoo, Bonita Hunter, Dr Troy Brown, Ms Phoenix, and Professor Stafford Griffith in designing and delivering the training course.
Instructional delivery topics included: Instructional Strategies, Policing in a Culturally Diverse Background in the Guyanese Setting, Reflexive Praxis, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Teaching Adult Learners among other things. The course consisted of 3 levels and this is the beginners’ level.
Participants for this course were selected by the Guyana Police Force based on the University of Guyana’s criteria.