(October 18, 2022) – The National Literacy Department of the Ministry of Education commenced a three-day training workshop for literacy volunteers who wish to assist the Ministry to attain national literacy goals. The workshop is being held at the Ramada Princess Hotel.
Assistant Chief Education Officer with responsibility for literacy, Ms. Samantha Williams said that ensuring that all citizens become functionally literate cannot be the fate of the Ministry of Education alone. She said, “the onus is on each of us to help one another and to help each other unlock our reading and literacy potential.” She said that all of Guyana will reap the consequences if nothing is done to address the issue of low literacy rates.
She said that 132 volunteers will join the Ministry to aggressively work to eliminate illiteracy. According to Ms. Williams, the National Literacy Volunteer Program will help the Ministry to concretize the level of support that can be given to students through intervention and remediation programs.
The ACEO explained that the program that is designed for volunteers is fast-paced and self-paced and caters for six weeks of intervention. She said that the National Literacy Department’s training module comprises three levels and will move students from beginner readers to becoming independent readers.
However, she noted that firstly, students must be assessed so that their reading levels can be identified so that the right strategy can be applied to help them move along the literacy continuum until they become functionally literate.
She noted that the volunteers who will participate in the training workshop were drawn from various sectors, ministries and from all 10 administrative regions.
