Launch of Programme to boost reading, writing skills

The Ministry of Education will soon launch an inclusive literacy programme designed to enhance reading and writing skills for all age groups in Guyana.

The initiative will target primary and secondary school children as well as adults seeking to improve their reading comprehension and vocabulary.

Speaking at a year-end press briefing on Friday, the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, emphasised the programme’s transformative potential.

“This programme for me is huge. It’s going to be hugely enriching for our children. You could really change your life if you start reading,” the minister said to reporters during the media conference at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) in Georgetown.

According to Minister Manickchand, one of the main goals is to ensure all children have a good grasp of basic literacy principles and can effectively comprehend writing before the enter Grade Four.

To achieve this goal, the ministry consulted various literacy professionals to draft a comprehensive and detailed document outlining various learning techniques and resources.

As a result, the ministry now has a collection of resources to help students and adults grasp the basic elements of literacy.

Minister Manickchand said, “We are going to be incorporating work to make sure it’s not just school children who are benefitting from this, but also adults in the society who feel they need some help with reading and writing.”

Although the document was compiled by an all-Guyanese team and designed for Guyanese students, its model can be used to influence the teaching strategies of schools in the Caribbean.

The programme’s content will be digestible for all students since it was tailored to provide targeted support for students in low-performing schools.

Although this was not in the government’s manifesto, the initiative underscores the administration’s dedication to learning and the dissemination of knowledge.

The ministry has also procured over 170,000 popular books for hundreds of public schools in Guyana. The initiative is meant to ensure that each school has a functioning library.

The Ministry of Education said it plans to procure even more books during the course of the year.