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– several schools set to benefitA grant amounting to approximately $2 million has been made available by ExxonMobil to aid the furtherance of science education among primary level pupils.The endowment was recently handed over to Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that has a keen focus on helping to create opportunities for youths and communities to effect positive local social change, strengthened by global partnerships.The grant represents a continuance of collaboration between ExxonMobil and YCG, a partnership which has been in existence for a few years now. During the past year, the NGO had plugged financing from its overseas partner into an inquiry-based science education project which was centred at only a few schools.From right: YCG’s Executive Director, Dmitri Nicholson; Alison Leo Rana, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, Public and Government Affairs; Americas International Government Relations Director, Craig Kelly; Germaine Watson,Jerseys NFL Wholesale China Online, Education Programme Manager, Youth Challenge Guyana and ExxonMobil’s Guyana Operations Manager, Fritz Merz.However, the newest project, according to YCG Executive Director, Dmitri Nicholson, will cater to a wider cross-section of children.This goal, he explained, will be achievable, since the project will ensure that improved educational resources to aid the teaching and learning of science will be available at Resource Centres in Regions Three and Four. The actual project is expected to kick-in next month.“This will see us being able to provide science equipment that students and even teachers can use for their own learning,” said Nicholson. “And so far we have developed science kits, and these will be in the resource centres that teachers and students can use to do their experiments and so.”Added to this, YCG will be seeking to further support schools by providing science mentors, and according to Nicholson, it is hoped that this particular aspect will be supported by the private sector.“We are hoping that people, qualified in this field, will be able to visit the resource centres to give sessions on different areas of science so that students can be stimulated to study science,” said the YCG Director.However, he asserted that this project is not being done without support from the Education Ministry, since the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) is expected to play a vital role. Currently YCG and NCERD are in discussions to identify the schools that are expected to benefit from the science project.“Previously we had worked with four schools and we may likely go back and work with those schools too, or there might be different schools involved this time; it all depends on our discussion with the Ministry,” Nicholson intimated during an interview with this publication.“We have had a long history and relationship with NCERD and it has been very fruitful,” said Nicholson, who disclosed that “NCERD has the type of specialists who sort of help to guide the work that we do in education to ensure that we could get very good outcomes…We continue to work together as mutual partners as our projects diversifies.”The decision to introduce the science project comes on the heels of observations that there are not many young people graduating with exceptional grades in science subjects. Another factor Nicholson highlighted is that “we have noticed that although some students might be doing science, the type of technology that we are generating today, not many have access to it…We want to create more access to science and technology, so that they may be able to improve their performances in schools and find those careers.”The science project is likely to see innovative moves being made to use the resources in such a way that “the results could have a ripple effect…so that is why we are looking for more partners to support what we are doing,” said Nicholson.He noted that even as moves are made to help improve the delivery of science education, YCG is yet hopeful that support could be realised from local entities. Nevertheless, Nicholson noted that “We continue to discuss with Exxon the long term potential and so far Exxon has been satisfied.” |
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