Education COI preliminary report makes suggestions for nursery schools development
GINA, GUYANA, Thursday, May 4, 2017
A committee with responsibility for examining nursery school matters should be established, Chairman of the Education Commission of Inquiry (COI) Ed Caesar stated in the COI’s preliminary report.
Caesar said that the government was pleased to hear the significant role that the nursery school level literacy and numeracy play in the education of this level of students. However, he explained that it was highlighted by head teachers and teachers the problems they are experiencing with the sequencing of the reading materials.
Chairman of the Education Commission of Inquiry, Ed Caesar
“We (the commission) were presumptuous in some cases to request education departments in Regions Three and Five to take action in this regard. We can’t play with the nursery school students’ education,” the COI chairman noted. He said that those issues will be addressed immediately.
According to Caesar, during the COI’s consultations, the age of entry in the nursery school system was described to be problematic in many areas since some of the young children were not potty trained. He said that it caused the teachers to attend to that child leaving their classroom unattended.
The COI chairman said, “Some teachers have suggested that should the Education Ministry continue with the young age entry for nursery schools, then the least that they can provide for them (teachers) would be a teaching assistant or the establishment of another unit who will be responsible for the non-academic issues, primarily for those developmental activities.”
Meanwhile, Caesar said noted in the COI’s preliminary report that there was also a need for special needs programme for the development of young people, in keeping with the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture Youth and Sports’ agenda. This is to ensure that every young Guyanese is empowered through interactive programmes designed to enhance skills and develop attitudes so that they can make meaningful contributions to national development. Caesar added that the programme needs to have a good structure and activities which will be beneficial to the youths.
By: Neola Damon