Safety equipment handed over to TVET departments of 10 secondary schools by Education Ministry

The Education Ministry through the office of the Deputy Chief Education Officer (Technical), Dr Ritesh Tularam, handed over safety equipment to 10 secondary schools that offer Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes. This was done in the boardroom of the Ministry’s 26 Brickdam Office.

It was disclosed that the schools that received over 40 items each today were the Bygeval Secondary School, Hope Secondary School, Bladen Hall Secondary School, the Fellowship Practical Instruction Centre, Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School, Annandale Secondary School, Richard Ishmael Secondary School, New Amsterdam Secondary School, Canje Secondary School, and Dolphin Secondary School.

The items received were helmets, safety vests, safety goggles, and safety gloves.

Chief Education Officer, Mr Saddam Hussain was present at today’s handing-over ceremony. He said that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) must take its rightful place in the education system. He stressed that to do this, schools must be given the tools to ensure that their students are protected and can work in a safe environment.

Hussain said at this juncture of the country’s developmental agenda, TVET can take the education system to the next level. He noted that for the remainder of 2023, more emphasis will be placed by the Education Ministry on promoting and increasing access to TVET education.

He added that the Education Minister, Priya Manickchand also recognizes the importance of TVET education. He said that the education minister is aiming to have each secondary school child graduate from school with five main things. “We want them to leave with a foreign language, the ability to play at least one sport, the ability to play a musical instrument, a TVET subject and to leave with a spirit of volunteerism,” Hussain said.

According to the CEO, all secondary schools offer TVET subjects from Grades seven to nine but he noted that the number of students writing the subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level has to increase in addition to the number of students pursuing the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) and the Secondary Competency Certificate Programme (SCCP).

The CEO encouraged the teachers to ensure that the items are used appropriately and that they are cared for and stored properly.

Deputy Chief Education Officer (Technical), Dr Ritesh Tularam said that Occupational Safety and Health and the Environment (OSHE) is very critical to the delivery of competency-based training.

Dr Tularam said with that in mind, the use of these items in schools is important. According to him, the schools that have been selected so far are schools that are offering the TVET and the CVQ programmes. He said, “With that focus in mind, the Ministry recognized that we need to ensure that our teachers, our students that are engaging in these occupational programmes are taking safety as paramount.”

Further, Dr Tularam pointed out that recently during the national budget presentation, $2.5B GUY` will be channelled towards TVET education for 2023. He added that there are plans to reconstruct, retool and retrofit schools and departments at the Practical Instruction Centres and Departments to improve the delivery of the TVET programme across Guyana.

Additionally, he urged teachers today to ensure that the items are used by the students correctly.