Government’s efforts to improve school attendance are paying dividends. In fact, the government has recorded a decline in hinterland school dropouts, says the Head of State, David Granger.
The president made this revelation during his feature address at the commissioning of a $186M dormitory for tertiary hinterland students in Liliendaal, East Coast Demerara yesterday.
He told attendees that an average of 10 primary school students per week dropped out from hinterland schools in 2014. This has since declined to an average of three persons in 2017.
Further, an average of 17 secondary school students dropped out weekly from hinterland schools in 2014 but this has declined to an average of five per week in 2017.
“Access to education is improving. We still have a far way to go but we are on the right path to doing so,” The president stated.
Thus far, in excess of $170B was spent on education alone within the last four years by the Granger-led administration. Despite the evidently dismal performance at this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Granger said that the government’s effort in trying to keep children in schools is one that should be lauded.
Yesterday, he spoke about educational performance being vital to ensuring the success of the nation’s educational system. The government’s objective in terms of attainment is to ensure that, by 2030, every schoolchild passes the NGSA and that every secondary school student matriculates, he said.
The Head of State also noted that the performance of hinterland students is being enhanced by the provision of school meals.
“Classroom performance is vital to ensuring that students can translate their potential into performance. It is established that children who reach to school tired or hungry experience difficulties in being attentive. This affects their performance. All 26,600 students in 214 in nursery and primary schools and annexes now benefit from some form of school feeding,” he said.
