36 Students graduate from Carnegie’s Care for the Elderly and Child Care Management programmes
(January 30, 2020) – Thirty-six students graduated today from the Carnegie School of Home Economics (CSHE) after completing the Care for the Elderly Level one and Childcare Management Level one courses.
According to Principal of the CSHE, Mrs. Myrna Lee, 23 students completed the Childcare Management Level one course while 13 students completed the Care for the Elderly Level one course.
Giving an overview of the course, the Principal said that the mode of delivery in the classroom varied from small group to large group lectures, group presentations, individual tests, quizzes, panel discussions, written and oral assignments and guest lectures.
She said that following the completion of the course, the students were given the opportunity to evaluate the institution, facilities and facilitators as well as benefit from work attachment at various institutional partners such as the Palms Geriatric Institute and the Mahaica Children’s Home.
She said that one benefit of launching the two programmes was that the institution was able to attract new professional and institutional partners.
Mrs. Lee explained that the CSHE’s vision for the programmes is to collaborate with partners to provide new experiences, provide Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) certification, introduce level three of the programmes and to acquire equipment to improve learning and teaching at the CSHE.
She said that the majority of the students have already registered for Level Two of the respective courses. To complete the courses students completed 12 weeks of classroom time and 40 hours of work attachment.
Chairman of the CSHE Board of Governors, Mrs. Patricia David said that the CSHE caters for the all-round development of the individual. She urged the graduates to remember what they were exposed to never deviate from what was taught.
She encouraged the graduates to not forget that they are professionals and not just caregivers. Mrs. David advised them that they will not only interact with those in their care but the families of those persons.
The Chairman also said that those graduates that will move on to care for children need to appreciate the importance of proper nutrition and hygiene practices for the growth and development of children.
Further, she said that when dealing with the elderly, ageing must be understood. Speaking to the graduates, Mrs. David said that the graduates will be dealing with persons at two critical stages.
Delivering the feature address was Mr. Mitra Ramkumar, President of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG). He said that it was a proud moment to see that there were no dropouts from the courses.
In his address, Mr. Ramkumar re-emphasized the point that the graduates will be caring for persons in two vulnerable stages of life. He reminded them that Tourism is a ‘people to people’ industry. He said that the graduates can find opportunities in the tourism industry to utilize their skills and knowledge to connect with people and help persons to feel comfortable and safe.
He added, that based on the courses of study, the graduates are important personnel since in most instance they will be first responders to the persons under their care in the case of any emergency.
Mr. Floyd Scott, Director of the Council for Technical Vocational Education and Training (CTVET), said that the experiences and vocation that the graduates acquired will in some way impact on their lives. However, he said that they must know what makes them a good ‘carer’.
He advised the graduates that for them to stand out as the preferred specialist they must possess certain traits or qualities not only for the job or workplace but for life. He implored them to inculcate qualities such as being respectful, empathetic, reliable and patient. He said that embracing these qualities among others will help the graduates to be among the exceptional carers.
Also present at the graduation exercise was Chief Education Officer (ag), Mrs. Ingrid Trotman and Assistant Chief Education Officer (Technical), Mr. Patrick Onwuzirike and Vice-Chairperson of the CSHE Board, Mrs. Elizabeth Isaacs-Walcott.