As the world of technology creeps upon the doors of every teaching institution within Guyana, Camille’s Academy has opened its doors to the fraternity of this era-changing technology.
As the Academy prepares to kick off its golden 25th anniversary on January 25, 2025, a milestone marked and linked to the number ‘25,’ it is also gearing up for the official opening of the Diamond Learning Institution and four Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) labs across their four learning academies, perfectly timed to coincide with this celebratory year.
Camille Deokie-Gorakh revealed this during an interview with this publication, where she outlined the initiatives and funding allocated for the new institution, which will heavily focus on STEM education from as early as nursery level.
To top it off, US$1 million have been invested in the new Diamond Academy thus far.
“For this Diamond Campus that we will be launching, we’ve invested one million U.S. dollars into that campus. Obviously, we have a partnership with Republic Bank, but that’s just a fraction of what they have loaned us,” she said.
This campus will stand out from all other campuses in the country due to its high focus on STEM education.
“We know it’s important to take a balanced approach to learning. I mean, while the primary focus is on academics, STEM will now be part of our curriculum, across our 4 locations including Diamond,” she explained.
Many people are unaware that the Diamond campus is actually an old building that has been renovated.
“Mind you, Diamond had a pretty old and outdated building for more than 15 years. After COVID, we made a lot of changes…We’re not taking that traditional approach any longer.”
According to Deokie-Gorakh, over the years they have been working to stay on top of the ever-blossoming technology era, which has all been in preparation for the new launch as well.
In 2024 alone, the Academy invested GY$5 million in the first six months of the year to train teachers on leveraging AI tools.
“This entire year, we’ve been doing a lot of curriculum reform to include STEM as early as the nursery level. We see how the entire education landscape is evolving, and if we don’t adapt, we’ll be left behind,” she noted.
In addition to this, she shared how the Academy has taken small steps in integrating AI into education—an effort that will align well with the new campus once it’s built.
“We also sponsored an AI for education conference, which saw us spend about US$10,000.
Not just to bring the technology to Camille Academy teachers, but also to provide an opportunity for 200 teachers and 200 students from across Guyana to attend. None of the attendees paid to attend the conference; we made it possible for them,” Deokie explained.
The AI educator for the event, Nick Brown, an AI specialist, was brought to Guyana for one week by Camille’s Academy.
The first half of 2024 was filled with these educational advancements.
However, in the second half, the Academy brought the first AI for Education conference to the Caribbean, while also continuing to train their teachers. As a result, this academic year, the curriculum has been reformed using AI and other innovative programmes.
Some may fear that AI will replace current jobs, but Deokie dismissed this concern, stating, “You need that personal touch. You need human-to-human interaction. For me, I will never replace our teachers. However, we’re using AI to simplify the way we do things.”
These initiatives, aligned with the hope that students will succeed in their academics, have already produced great results.
“We had four students who became top performers in Guyana. We secured two places from our West Coast location, two from East Bank, and one from East Coast,” she shared.
“Our student of the year had 14 subjects, with 10 ones, three twos, and one three. You’ll see that on the banner.”
In addition to recognising student achievements, the Academy also highlighted the importance of acknowledging teachers.
“We would normally have an end-of-year awards ceremony for teachers and an internal appraisal system. This year, however, we decided to include Teacher of the Year, and they were given equal recognition as the students,” she explained.
After the graduation, the Academy hosted a two-day business conference in partnership with other organisers.
“Although the STEM lab faced some delays, work will continue, and everything should be set for the official opening,” Deokie-Gorakh said.
There is a lot of work involved, but Deokie-Gorakh emphasised the importance of the path that the organisation is taking to have students educated.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding to see the holistic approach we’re taking to education. We’re not just focused on academia. You might have aspiring Olympic athletes in our school who you don’t even know about. That’s why we’re also pushing our sports programme to give them an opportunity to shine.”
Started in 1996 and established in the year 2000 Camille’s Academy has grown from a small tutoring programme in a garage to a respected educational institution with four locations across Guyana.
