| In excess of $875M has been budgeted for this year to facilitate the construction of Technical and Vocational facilities in Regions Three and Five. Works in this regard were given a January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2011 duration, a process which is currently ongoing. Presently works are progressing in Mahaica where one of the facilities, which has been classified as critical, is progressing.According to the publicised specification, this project is estimated to cost just over $424M and is being funded by the Government of Guyana with the support of a loan (18/SFR-GUY) from the Caribbean Development Bank for the enhancement of Technical and Vocational Education and Training Programme, with the Ministry of Education as the Executing Agency. The Project Consultant is Civil/Structural Engineers and Project Managers and R. Bassoo and Sons Construction Company is the contractor.The description of the National Tech/Voc Project,NCAA Hockey Jerseys, as stated in the Central Government Development Programme Capital Project Profiles,Clark Griswold Jersey, indicates that it includes provision for construction and supervision of technical vocational centres at Leonora in Region Three and at Mahaica in Region Five.It also includes a component for training and purchase of tools and equipment for schools, technical institutes and practical instruction centres, with benefits ranging from the improved facilities to enhanced technical and vocational training. The total project cost amounts to in excess of $1.9B, with a sum just over $424M being expended before the commencement of this year.Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh in his presentation of the national budget last week Monday revealed that $1.6B has been budgeted for technical vocational education towards the completion of construction works at the two vocational centres. This sum is also expected to fund the construction of a student dormitory at the Essequibo Technical Institute and the provision of tools, equipment,Cheap Baltimore Orioles Jerseys, materials and furniture for institutes countrywide, allowing increasing numbers of students an alternative pathway.Technical and Vocational Education has been placed high on the agenda of the Ministry of Education, a notion that has been repeatedly amplified by Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh. It was for this very reason that the Ministry had sought to introduce intensified efforts a few years ago to introduce a skills for life programme with a view of preparing youths for employment.According to Minister Baksh, the programme which is deemed as vital,Anthony Steen Dolphins Jersey, will be complementary to the Behavioural Communication Certificate Programme (BCCP) which was initiated at some schools with much success.The Minister had pointed out that the BCCP which came on stream some years ago compares with a Caribbean programme called the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competency (CCSLC). However, he noted that although Guyana may have pioneered the technical and vocational programme,NFL Shop Gear, there are some challenges that the Ministry faces with its continuance.It was in 2009,Bill Lee Jersey, he revealed, that the sector did not have a sufficient quota of qualified teaching staff in either the technical or vocational aspects, adding that “we are moving towards training more and more people.”He pointed out that while there is a technical teachers training programme at the Government Technical Institute, only about 12 teachers graduate annually. For this reason, it was noted, the Ministry is prepared to open new centres with a view of doubling or even tripling the amount of teachers that are trained in the system.“A task team was set up and they have already reported. They have had discussions with the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the technical institutions and we are hoping within a matter of a few months we will have a large intake of persons to take the technical teachers trained certificates.”The Ministry of Education has since put in place a Technical and Vocational Council headed by a former Dean of the Faculty of Technology of the University of Guyana and a former Deputy Chief Education Officer, Technical Education. The Minister disclosed that the body has a solid make-up of persons to address the question of the Caribbean vocational qualifications which standardises technical education across the region. |
