The services of an increased number of well-trained doctors in the area of Obstetrics and GynaecologyMinister of Public Health, Dr George Nortonat the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) supported by skilled midwives could be the formula for arresting the challenge of maternal and infant mortality, according to recently sworn-in Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton.? These workers,Cheap Jerseys China, he has asserted, must also be well compensated.And Guyana is in dire need of a strategic tactic to curb the aforementioned challenge if it is to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Four and Five before year-end.Moreover, the Minister noted that “I am of the opinion that the only time we are going to take control of our maternal and infantile mortality rate is when we have at least 10 Guyanese trained Obstetric/Gynaecologists working in the Georgetown Hospital with well-trained midwives being given benefits.”As such, he said that he will be working towards putting measures in place to achieve the desired outcome. Accordingly, Dr Norton added, that moves will be made towards ensuring that the overtime for these workers is not taxed and that they are readily afforded duty free concessions where applicable as he alluded to the distance that some medical practitioners travel to perform their duties. He also hinted to the possibility of housing availabilities for these workers pointing out that efficient performances are more likely “when persons know that they are going home to their own homes.”“These are some of the things that we have to take into consideration…the training alone is not all; the education alone is not all,2018 Nike Vapor Max Plus, it is the conditions under which nurses and so on work (and) there are very good nurses whose hearts are with the system, but it is not going to happen if we don’t take it holistically and address these issues,” said the Health Minister.In September 2000, 191 United Nations Member States, Guyana included, signed a UN Millennium Declaration committing them to achieve eight precisely outlined MDGs by 2015. This therefore committed the Member States to tackle developmental challenges including poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.Moreover, the eight goals are: to eradicate?extreme poverty?and?hunger; to achieve?universal primary education; to promote?gender equality; to reduce?child mortality; to improve?maternal health; to combat?HIV/AIDS,?malaria, and other diseases; to ensure environmental sustainability and to develop a global partnership for development.But it was just last year that the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Guyana and Suriname, Marianne Flach, observed that while Guyana had achieved several MDGs and was well on its way to achieving several more, there are some that are proving to be more elusive and costly to attain.She was at the time speaking at the launch of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS). Guyana, Flach noted,Cheap NBA Jerseys China, as at last year,Wholesale Jerseys, was able to achieve the MDGs relating to hunger, primary education, gender equality and environmental sustainability, but is struggling to tackle MDGs Four and Five which speak specifically to reducing infant and maternal mortality.“While we have made significant progress in reducing Under Five mortality through better vaccination coverage and management of childhood illnesses, neonatal mortality is still a critical issue,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale,” said Flach.The UNICEF Rep pointed out that “too many children still die from preventable causes within the first month of life,” as she went on to amplify the importance of the MICS, which can provide needful data to identify the fatal trends in order to activate plans to address them.The MICS, according to her, is an important monitoring tool for assessing the wellbeing of children, women and their families, as the MICS survey collects data for more than 20 of the 48 MDG indicators.The MICS is said to the largest international household survey to collect information on many MDG indicators in a short period. She therefore noted that “for Guyana to continue making progress as a lower-middle income country, sound information on child rights indicators is crucial for formulating and revising national and sub-national policies, and for monitoring to ensure the country’s progress towards the achievement of the MDGs, and other global commitments aimed at promoting the welfare of children.”And this is important, Flach noted, in light of the fact that “gaps in data often impede Guyana’s efforts to formulate effective policies and programmes, and can present a challenge when

The Ministry of Education is prepared to do away with the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) trained teachers’ certificate and is set to phase in an initiative called ‘Two Plus Two’.The initiative,China NFL Jerseys, according to Education Minister, Shaik Baksh, will see teachers in training spending two years at CPCE and a subsequent two years at the University of Guyana in their quest to become fully qualified teachers.In moving away from the trained teachers’ certificate, Baksh said that an Associate Degree Programme will be designed at the college. “In two years a teacher in training upon his or her exit from college must be able to do so with an Associate Degree status.”Minister Baksh said that several measures have already been put forward and a concept paper has been prepared by his Ministry to give substance to proposals made. He added that several meetings were held with officials of both CPCE and UG in this regard.“We have asked for an institutional review for both CPCE and UG to see how these things can be accommodated to look at what changes are necessary to strengthen these institutions to better provide for teacher education and training in our country.”“I must be frank in stating though that it has been a bit slow. Since June the concept paper was prepared and we had meetings that same month and now it is November. So I am becoming a bit impatient with the pace at which we are moving. Too slow! The pace we are going at is way too slow and so we may not be able to introduce anything in the next two to three years and that is not on my agenda as Minister,” Baksh asserted. The Minister noted that something must be done to accelerate the proposed changes in the system while at the same time ensure that quality assurance remains constant.“We will be moving a bit faster under my guidance in the Central Ministry of Education,Cheap Authentic Jerseys,” he assured.Minister Baksh’s disclosure was made during the opening of a workshop intended to help pave the way to reform the delivery of education in the public system. The workshop which concluded yesterday was held at the National Centre for Educational Research and Development (NCERD), Kingston, Georgetown.Meanwhile, the Ministry will direct further attention to the CPCE curriculum as part of its effort to boost teacher education and training.About five years ago through the GBET programme,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, the Ministry was able to implement a teacher upgrading programme in all regions, particularly in the hinterland areas in the quest to improve the sector.However, with the culmination of that programme, Baksh said that his Ministry has since sought to continue the upgrade process. He is nonetheless of the belief that the Ministry’s efforts have been too slow in coming to fruition,Authentic Jerseys Wholesale, a problem which is rooted in the fact that a teacher’s training as it is, is a lengthy process.“We have looked at the CPCE,China Jersyes Cheap, through a Task Team we have established…and we have realised that the programme there is taking too long. Three years of full time at the CPCE is too long a time and so we have made changes.”It is proposed that CPCE will offer one year pre-service at the institution and more a school based approach in the second year with intense supervision which is currently lacking, according to the Minister.“We have to ensure more supervision at the school level in terms of teacher education. This is key to the end product…so changes will be coming about,Cheap NFL Jerseys Store,” the Minister stressed.It was just a few months back that the Minister announced that the Education Sector is poised to be adequately augmented with aptly qualified teachers. He had then placed emphasis on the areas of Mathematics and English, adding that more teachers would be available in those fields before this year end.With an 18-month distance mode certificate programme made available through NCERD and CPCE, the teachers are expected to be fully upgraded to improve the level of education delivery.This newspaper was informed that two cohorts of teachers had commenced the first bout of the programme last year and were expected to complete the intense and comprehensive curriculum last month. Another batch had also commenced the programme January last. According to Baksh, “We had to find innovative ways of bringing in other teachers to address the current shortage of teachers in the system.”Additionally, he revealed that the Ministry is also seeking to incorporate third and fourth year teachers from the University of Guyana.Officials of the education sector had for some time now recognised