Education Ministry anxious to access $32.3B allocation - Manickchand

Education Ministry anxious to access $32.3B allocation – Manickchand

Apr 02, 2014 News

All secondary schools across the country will be furnished with computer laboratories by year end, an undertaking that will be dependent on the National Assembly’s approval of the $32.3 billion earmarked for the Ministry of Education.
This disclosure was recently amplified by Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, even as she commissioned an alumnus-funded computer laboratory at the Bath Primary School in Region Five, last week.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

“We do everything equally across the country and once we get the money that the Government intends for us to get, all secondary schools will have computer labs by the end of 2014,” the Minister assured as she addressed a gathering of mainly pupils and their parents.
Added to this, she said that the Ministry with its budgetary allocated sum would be in a position to continue giving each public school child uniform assistance, whereby they are furnished with vouchers to procure school supplies. And all children, from Nursery to Grade Two, will continue to be eligible for a meal at school, the Minister disclosed, as she pointed out that “some teachers say since the feeding programme started children are coming to school much more often.”
The Minister said that schools’ records have substantiated this development.
“Our records show that we have a much higher attendance rate after starting that programme,” said Manickchand, even as she alluded to another initiative that Government has introduced.
In the quest to ensure that parents are in a better position to have their children properly educated, Manickchand emphasised the announcement last week Monday by Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, that for the first time this year every school-aged child, from nursery through secondary, will get a financial grant of $10,000.
“This is the first time ever that Guyana is doing something like that. We know that this is going to be something that is much appreciated,” said Manickchand, who disclosed that already many parents have expressed gratitude for the allocation, since they believe it will be of great assistance to them.
“They have said that this will be a push for them,” said the Education Minister, who noted that “we look forward to being able to implement this programme as quickly as possible. These are some of the small measures that we know will make a huge impact in your lives and your schools and we will continue to stand by our people,” assured Manickchand.
The investments by Government, the Minister said, are strategically designed to aid Guyana’s development which has become evident, even to those outside of Guyana. She alluded to studies undertaken by the World Bank which indicate considerable efforts are being made to alleviate poverty.
The World Bank after completing a study of Guyana’s developmental status in 1991 found that 67 per cent of the population was living in poverty. Another such study was conducted around the period 2007/2008, and according to Manickchand, it was found that 35 per cent were living in poverty.
“That means that under the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) we have cut poverty in half; we are at half the number of persons who are living in poverty and this is according to the World Bank, an international organisation, not the PPP or PNC, not government or opposition…”
And although notable strides have been made to tackle poverty, the Minister observed that there is yet more that the Government is prepared to do. Among these, she listed moves to ensure that the way is paved, not only for children to attend school, but for persons to have their own homes and have a better quality of life.
“We want to make sure that you can own your own homes, that is why a serious allocation was made to Housing…We want to make sure that your children can go to school so that they can be better than you are. We want to make sure that when you go to the hospital you can get medicine so you can be treated,” said Manickchand.