The Cambridge University Certificate in Educational Leadership was on Thursday introduced for the first time to Guyana through the School of Nations.
The introduction was made during a two-day Educational Leadership conference held in the school’s compound today, in the presence of representatives from the Education Ministry and the British High Commissioner to Guyana.
Speaking at the symposium, following the certificate’s introduction, was Director of National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), Jennifer Cumberbatch who noted that Guyana’s history of producing inspirational educators has been lost over the years.
“I say this here because it is vital to remember our history. The fact that we were at the top of our field in education across the Caribbean region. We’ve had an education system that was diverse in its reach and scope. The recipients of this lost legacy have become leaders themselves here in Guyana and in the diaspora across a wide spectrum of professions,” she explained.
Cumberbatch further urged Guyanese to reposition and prioritise re-building educational system’s legacy.
“To get to this stage, data collection is important because we need educational information on how our schools are functioning to be more informed when making policies that lead the education system towards quality education for all,” she posited.
Also sharing her remarks was a Limited Resources Teachers Training representative identified as Emily Fennigan.
She sought to provide insight on the works to be done in Guyana over the coming months, which have been fully endorsed by the Ministry of Education.
“We believe that teacher quality is really the key to ensuring that every child has a rich education and that experience. Many teachers, Guyana included don’t have access to quality training or are looking for more support in those areas so what we do is we partner teachers from the United States, from the UK, from Australia who are also looking to learn and prepare themselves for a more globalised classroom to partner with local education agencies in one of ten different countries,” she said.
In the future, there will be a series of developmental projects which are expected to aid in the improvement of quality education in Guyana.
There are plans to introduce this initiative in other countries such as Afghanistan and Gambia.
Meanwhile, Director of Nations, Dr Brian O’Toole used the platform to launch his book titled “Educational Leadership” which outlines 40 years of working on developmental projects in Guyana.
The conference will conclude on Friday and is expected to feature other international speakers who will give their presentation on educational leadership from their respective countries and the impact of these developmental projects.
