Sustainable Education started in Guyana since 2009, Manickchand reminds UNESCO

Guyana’s Education Minister Priya Manickchand delivering to the UNESCO World Conference on MOnday

On Monday, Education Minister Priya Manickchand restated the commitment of Guyana towards providing education for sustainable development. The minister was at the time participating in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development.

A statement from the Ministry of Education late Monday afternoon noted Manickchand reminding the conference that education for sustainable development is not new to Guyana and its commitment to the process started in 2009 through the Low Carbon Development Process which was built around sustainable use of its forestry resources.

The process, Manickchand is reported in the ministry’s statement as saying, forms the basis of policies at a national level that aims to transform Guyana’s economy to deliver greater economic and social development to provide a model for the world on how climate change can be addressed through low carbon development in developing countries.

Minister Manickchand noted that the development of education for sustainable development (ESD) policy in 2016 by the Education sector in Guyana is a testament to the country’s further commitment to the process. Great strides have been made as it relates to the policy objectives that are still relevant today, the conference was told.

“These are evident in our ongoing curriculum reform process, which articulates the Guyana vision of the new curriculum where Guyanese students have the knowledge, skills, and values to live life and reach his/her potential to participate positively towards social cohesion and sustainable national, regional and global transformation,” Guyana’s Education Minister Priya Manickchand told the conference.

She added that the Ministry’s 2021 – 2025 Education Sector Plan that will be launched soon is the sector’s policy position with a 2030 vision that is about providing opportunities for quality, equitable education and lifelong learning for all that are aligned with all of the Sustainable Development Goal Four targets.

According to the minister, these two documents are the roadmaps through which the ESD is integrated into the education sector in Guyana. Minister Manickchand said that Guyana supports any movement towards Education for Sustainable Development.