Guyana: Central High School closure put on hold – Education Ministry

Central High School closure put on hold – Education Ministry

Central High School. Georgetown. Guyana

 Feb 16, 2018  – Kaieteur News

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has announced that any closure of the Central High School is on hold.
The Ministry in a statement yesterday disclosed that it is currently exploring other avenues to have the children of that institution housed comfortably following a meeting with the Central High School Board, the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), representatives of the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) and officials of the MoE.              

Last week, the PTA and Board of Directors of the Central High School protested the Ministry of Education, (MoE) over the impending closure of the institution.
Chairperson of the school’s Board of Directors, Ruth Howard, said that the protest is part of the school’s effort to get the attention of the Ministry and other relevant authorities over reports that the Ministry plans to have Central High School phased out of the public education system. She said that Board has credible information of the Ministry efforts to “phase out” the school.

Howard noted that the fact that there were no new entries at the first form level of Central High at the beginning of the school term and recent move to have students relocated, has parents and the school board troubled.

The Chairperson said that before taking steps to phase out the school, the Ministry should take into consideration Central’s performance at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) exam has been exceptional for the past few years.

Central High School has an over 80 percent pass rate at CSEC in the past three years. According to Howard, the rate has been climbing.

“I don’t think it‘s a good idea to phase out a school that is performing; a school with a history of non performance maybe, but not Central High,” she added, noting that the issue came to the forefront after plans to close the school were raised by the Ministry, based on the need to renovate the building, which at present is in a state of disrepair.

Kaieteur News understands, however, that the building which currently accommodates a student body of close to 1000 children is privately owned.
Howard said parents of those students at the school are beginning to worry about the future of the school and their children. She had urged the ministry to meet with them and talk about the plans for the future.