TVET online classes progressing smoothly

Deputy Chief Education Officer (DCEO) with responsibility for technical education, Dr. Ritesh Tularam, said the ministry’s online Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes have been successful so far.

The education ministry commenced the online programme last year, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We may have had a few hiccups from time to time and we understand in the technological world, connectivity, infrastructure, access to devices and so on can present such situations. So, the ministry continuously ensures that those students were provided with internet access and (internet) hubs and all these things were established at various points, especially in the hinterland (to bridge that gap),” he told DPI in an exclusive interview recently.

To complement these efforts, consistent monitoring and supervision, as well as guidance were given to ensure students were not affected. Dr. Tularam said this approach, “will allow the ministry to rectify or remediate whatever difficulties or challenges students might face at one point in time.”

The online feature was conceptualised in 2020, after Guyana discovered its first covid case in March of that year.

TVET institutions were already utilising the online platform, however, a decision was taken to expand to ensure students continue their programmes.

The ministry had also repurposed a portion of the loan provided by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to Guyana Skills Development and Employability Project (GSDEP) to procure Information and Communication Technology (ICT) equipment for these institutions.

Over $65 million worth of equipment including 138 laptops, 12 tablets, 40 camcorders, 128 projectors and 20 cloud storage devices were purchased for the programme. Institutions including the Government, Linden, Essequibo and New Amsterdam Technical Institutes, the Guyana Industrial Training Centre (GITC), and Upper-Corentyne Industrial Training Centre (UCITC) among others, received equipment.