Even as the Ministry of Education embraces a vision to have at least 70 per cent of teachers in the education system trained by 2013, the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) yesterday held its 78th Convocation at the National Cultural Centre, at which a total of 862 educators (759 female and 103 male) graduated, among them the first batch of teachers (197 in total) under its Associated Degree in Education (ADE) programme.The other 665 completed the Trained Teacher’s Certificate Programme.Best Graduating Student,NCAA Hockey Jerseys, Khemwattie Diana Algoo, receives a trophy from Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam.The overall best graduating student was Khemwattie Diana Algoo of Rose Hall, Berbice,Wholesale Authentic NFL Jerseys, who completed the Secondary School, ADE programme at the College’s Rose Hall branch.Each graduate of the ADE programme is to be presented with a laptop.Chief Education Officer, Olato Sam,http://www.airmaxfantasy.us.com/Adidas/, related that it was just a few years ago that the Ministry had committed itself to ensuring that the children of Guyana enjoy the benefits of adequately staffed institutions.As such he pointed to the move towards ensuring that there is an increased number of trained teachers in an effort to guarantee that a larger percentage of children will have the opportunity to access a better quality of education.“I proudly declare that as I stand here today that objective has not only been attained but has been surpassed,” Sam said. As if that were not enough, he added too that a highly ambitious project aimed at transforming CPCE into an institution in-line with contemporary educational practices on par with any teacher training institution in the world has commenced.With very strategic interventions, the Chief Education Officer said, that the aim is to improve the quality of the training experience available at the College, thereby making it a true dual mode institution, producing individuals capable of delivering the highest quality of pedagogical output.Moreover, Sam said that academic standards were raised, aligning education delivery of the institution with that of the School of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana.This, according to him, has allowed for the smooth transition to that institution for all graduates.Added to this, Sam related, there is a well designed mentorship programme, affording all new entrants to the system strong guidance and support from Master teachers identified within the institutions where they serve.To further align the output with contemporary education, a strong emphasis was placed on Information and Communication Technology, thereby allowing for all of the Associates Degree graduates to each receive laptops as promised to them by former Minister of Education, Shaik Baksh, Sam informed the gathering yesterday.Directing his charge to the graduands,Cheap Jerseys Online, the Chief Education Officer expressed his conviction that “you are not just teachers, you are transformation agents and should regard yourselves as such. If we are to effectively equip our children with the skills, knowledge and attitudes that will enable them to attain their life’s potential and in the process transform their communities and by extension this nation we all love, it must start with each of you.”As such he urged them to ensure that their mission must be to go well beyond mere education and penetrate the walls that impede sweeping behaviour change.The auspicious ceremony also saw the delivery of speeches by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds,Arizona Diamondbacks Gregor Blanco Jersey, Opposition Leader David Granger and Minister of Culture Youth and Sport,Wholesale China Jerseys, Dr. Frank Anthony. Dr Anthony, who delivered the feature address, attended the ceremony in the stead of Education Minister Priya Manickchand who was unavoidably absent. |