National training for renewed curriculum begins

The Education Ministry has begun training teachers and pupils representing a wide cross section of schools at the primary level about the renewed curriculum.

It was revealed that it is envisioned that the academic year 2022-2023 will see the piloted curricula for Grades one to four expanded to all schools in Education Districts two, three, four, five, six, 10 and Georgetown. This exercise will be phase one of the national rollout of the curriculum. The second phase is expected to occur in the 2023-2024 academic year in Education Districts one, seven, eight and nine.

The ministry said that the national training exercise began on June 21, 2022, with Master Trainers engaging classroom educators from Grades one to four. The in-person capacity building sessions will be held monthly with teachers in their school clusters. It noted that each Master Trainer will oversee a group of 25 teachers, and their capacities will be developed around a thorough comprehension and effective application of the renewed curriculum. The monthly meetings will occur from June 2022 to December 2022.

It was revealed that according to the Director of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development, Ms. Quenita Walrond-Lewis, this process is the beginning of the end for learners being told the nature of things rather than being able to experience it for themselves. Further, Walrond-Lewis said she believes that through this process, children will no longer be viewed and treated as the passive recipient of information but rather as an active co-creator of their learning.

It was disclosed that the curriculum aims to foster greater inclusivity, recognizing that each child has unique qualities, and varied abilities which are to be respected in all learning situations. It provides for learning using diverse, responsive, and varied instructional strategies and caters for differentiated learning, resources and assessment.

The ministry stressed that renewed curriculum contains several features which acknowledges Guyana’s unique context and reflects the country’s diversity. As such, the curriculum also gives focus to the essential educational competencies an educated person in Guyana should possess, such as communicating and collaborating effectively with others, possessing proficiency in literacy and numeracy and being able to enjoy physical and socio-emotional well-being.