In an attempt to boost the academic level of its ranks, the Guyana Defence Force on Thursday launched its Academic Education Programme (AEP) at its Camp Seweyo Base on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway.The programme comes as a strategic attempt by the GDF to academically mould its ranks mainly through distance education mode.Almost two years ago,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the Force had reported that close to 70 percent of young people seeking entry to the Force failed to score passes at the entrance examination which is set at the national Grade Six level.Those daunting results provided an opportunity for the GDF to further its contribution to national development by providing the potential recruits with the tools to upgrade their academic levels.The programme is three-tiered: beginning with the Remedial level, followed by the Foundation level and culminating with the CXC programme. The Remedial level is geared for applicants who failed the Force’s entrance examination. It would last for five weeks. It is expected that it will be delivered in a 70/30 format (70 percent face to face interaction and 30 percent distance study).It is an instructional programme designed to identify and correct the deficiencies in reading, writing and mathematics.Upon conclusion, the recruits will commence the Basic Recruit Course. This level of training will be continuous once the need exists. The second tier is the Foundation level which is designed to improve the soldiers’ academic performance thus preparing them for tier three.Tier Three of the AEP is equivalent to the secondary schools’ curriculum for Forms 1-5. It is geared to enable ranks to pursue the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate Examination and beyond. The CXC level of the AEP comprises English Language,Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic, English Literature, Mathematics, Physical Education, Spanish,Wholesale Football Jerseys, Integrated Science and Social Studies, which will be delivered through the distance mode.Soldiers pursuing this level will be issued with student guides and workbooks. They will be supervised during the programme by the Force’s academic teaching staff and their respective Commanders.The programme caters for the slowest of learners, allowing them to continue their academic pursuits regardless of their location.The Ministry of Education has been apprised of the programme and the Force will seek to collaborate with officials from the Ministry to ensure conformity with their standards.While the main objective is to prepare soldiers for on the job performance, other objectives include, offering soldiers a second chance at academic excellence, preparation of the soldiers for the pursuit of higher education, the improvement of the overall literacy levels of soldiers and their preparation for life after service.Samples of the Foundation Student Guide and Workbook, Levels One and Two English Language and Mathematics Student Guide and Workbook,Cheap NFL Jerseys Supply, and Level One Spanish Student Guide and Workbook were unveiled by Chief-of-Staff Commodore Gary Best and the Colonel General Staff at a simple ceremony yesterday.In a feature address,Adidas Hockey Jerseys Cheap, Best said that the AEP truly fulfils the GDF promise to the nation to support the education of young people.He noted that it validates the commitment of the Commander-in-Chief,Wholesale Jerseys, to promote the education and development of the Force’s ranks at all levels. He also explained that the AEP is of critical importance to soldiers since their promotion and other forms of upward mobility will be conditioned on the successful completion of the requisite promotional examinations, which, itself would require successful completion of the various levels of the AEP.The programme will serve to complement the efforts of the Ministry of Education and other organisations that are working among youths to ultimately reduce the yoke of delinquency that is apparent in some youths of today.