Latest update April 26th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 13, 2014 News
In spite of negative reports surrounding the operations the New Opportunity Corps (NOC), the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport is working to facilitate, the overall enhancement of the institution.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Alfred King, has said that efforts are underway to better the staff capacity and security arrangements at the NOC.
King said that after the incident in 2012, which created unrest at the NOC, the Ministry has worked to ensure better security management at the institution.
“A Ministry security arrangement is now in place as well as a number of programmes, which promote skills training and character building amongst the inmates.”
Within the past two years, reports of sexual misconduct and poor management have plagued the juvenile correctional facility located at Onderneeming, on the Essequibo Coast.
While the investigations into some of the allegations are still ongoing, King says that the Ministry is working in collaboration with a number of local and international organizations, which includes the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO) to achieve better results at the NOC.
“We have expanded the agricultural projects, sports programmes, cultural entertainment and other social programmes for the light entertainment and positive interaction of our young people,” he added
“We have also expanded on school curriculum, to allow students of NOC to reintegrate with the formal school system. In fact, we have three students preparing for the upcoming CSEC examinations and five students working on CSEC programmes within the institution itself…
“All the students are now exposed to at least one vocational skill training programme that is usually available to students at the Kuru Kururu training college.”
During, the 2012 unrest at NOC, fire destroyed fractions of the building, including a female dormitory and a skill training department.
Addressing the infrastructure concerns of the school, King said that the administration is also working to enhance overall accommodation capacity at NOC.
“The female building, which was burnt, is now back in operation and we are also working to enhance the infrastructural feature of the facility as well, we are currently working on a confinement building, which is 85 per cent complete.”
He explained that the weakening structure of the school is due to absence of adequate management.
“We have tried almost every skill set that is needed to operate the facility but we have found that reshuffling the administration is not the solution. The environment there sometimes has to do with people’s outlook and self-reliance.
“The NOC administration must find ways to enhance their ability and competence.”
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