Alliance for Change (AFC) Vice Chairperson, Catherine Hughes told the nation this afternoon that her party, while in government with A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), established 11 smart classrooms in Guyana between 2015 and July 2020. Her statement was prompted by a Facebook post made by the Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, in which she noted that no such facilities were established since 2014.
Hughes proceeded to list 11 schools, which she claimed, received smart classrooms. Those she pointed out were: Queens’ College, East Ruimveldt Secondary, Leonora Secondary, Skeldon/Line Path Secondary, New Amsterdam Multilateral, President’s College, Brickdam Secondary, Christiansburg Secondary, Bush Lot Secondary, Soesdyke Secondary, and the 8th of May Secondary.
But the Ministry, says that none of the schools Hughes listed has completed smart classrooms.
“That representation is an absolute falsehood that was unnecessary to tell and presents a worrying picture of depths the APNU/AFC is prepared to sink in their desperate bid to re-invent themselves from the inefficient, incapable and uncaring government they were. NOT A SINGLE school listed by Mrs Hughes as being completed under her government has a smart classroom in it except for Queen’s College which this government has installed and commissioned last week with funds provided in Budget 2020,” the Ministry noted.
It added that the Government is in the process of building and setting up 20 smart classrooms across the country to facilitate mass teaching and online teaching as the pandemic rages on.
“We encourage Mrs Hughes to avoid dissembling so blatantly or at all when it comes to dealing with the people’s business and particularly when it comes to children’s education as that can serve no useful purpose,” the Ministry said.
