The Guyana government says it is training a number of teachers with the “necessary skills” to teach English as a second language to children of Venezuelan migrants fleeing the economic and political situation in the South American country.
A government statement said that the Ministry of Education is working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to develop educational interventions, which will improve the learning and communication skills of those children and that eight communities in the region are expected to benefit from this initiative.
UNHCR representative on the Multi-Stakeholder Committee, Cecilie Guerrero, speaking at a stakeholder’s meeting here, said that a committee has been established and tasked with monitoring the arrival of Venezuelan migrants into Guyana.
She said that 17 teachers from Region One and two from Georgetown will meet later this week to begin the training with the two Georgetown-based teacher also being trained as trainers. The programme is being conducted by a Canadian-based facilitator.
So far, more than 800 Venezuelan children are enrolled in schools here, after their families left the country where opposition forces are seeking to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office.
The opposition forces are backed by the United States and other western countries while Maduro has the support of Russia, Cuba, and China among others.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it is working with the Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) to implement a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project that would provide for the provision and storage of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion interventions in six communities in Region One.
