Revised Education Bill gets attention in Parliament
Designed to address, among other things, the quality of education at all levels, even
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, tables the revised Education Bill in Parliament on Thursday.
within public and private educational institutions, a revised Education Bill was on Thursday tabled for the first time before the National Assembly.
Presenting the Bill was Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, who spoke confidently of the features of the Bill that would allow, once enacted, for the improvement of the education sector.
The Bill is therefore intended to repeal and replace the archaic Education Act currently in existence. It was crafted following consultations with stakeholders across the country, and seeks to reform the legal framework of education in Guyana and provide an effective system of education related to the needs of the people.
And since Article 149H (1) of the Constitution mandates that every child is entitled to free primary and secondary education in schools owned or funded by the State, the Bill makes provision for such a realisation which is however subjected “to available resources of the State and the availability of educational facilities to all persons in Guyana.”
Also contained in the Bill are provisions for ensuring free education to all persons and a component that speaks to quality education at all levels, both in public as well as private schools, and other educational institutions in Guyana.
Further still, the Bill is outfitted with a component to cater to the strengthening of the existing school management system so that it allows for the maximum participation of parents and teachers in the management of schools.
The Bill which also provides for the disciplining of children in the school environment, is being touted as a mechanism that contains measures that will “ensure for the benefit of children, enhancing their talents, mental and physical, and ensuring a rounded education in all schools.”
Moreover, it also touches on the administration of the education system; rights and responsibilities of students and their parents; categories of schools and the stages of education; the management of public educational institutions; employment of teachers; curriculum assessments of students, and even inspection and review of the education system.
Of note too is the fact that the Bill entails a component that deals specifically with the delivery of education to students with special needs. The Bill outlines that “The special education programme may take the form of an individual education plan tailored to suit the specific or individual needs of the student concerned.” It also contains a clause that empowers the Minister of Education “to make provision for distance learning education programmes at pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary levels” and yet another that enables the Minister to make provision for continuing and adult education programmes.”
According to a statement issued earlier this week by the Education Ministry, the Bill is one that will cater to the provision of adequate frameworks for the delivery of high quality, contemporary education, to better develop each student’s potential and maximize their educational achievement.
It is therefore noted by the Ministry that “This new Bill comes at a most opportune moment in Guyana’s history, especially since the current Education Act utilized in Guyana came into being since 1876 with its last amendments being made sometime in 1976.”
“The Government of Guyana in recognizing the misalignment of Guyana’s education legislation with contemporary regional and international education benchmarks, decided since 2005 to set about drafting a new Education Bill that can adequately address the modern education issues and challenges currently experienced by the sector,” the Ministry had pointed out.
Against this background, Ministry officials are optimistic that the Bill will garner “unrestrained support of the full House in getting this…made into Law from which all of Guyana, particularly her children, will benefit.”