History+of+CPCE

History of Cyril Potter College of Education Focus on Current Issues

introduction On the 7th November 1877, an act to establish and regulate an institution for the training of teachers for primary schools made it law

//“ that a college shall be established at which both male and female persons may be properly trained to become efficient teachers for primary schools”.//

The plans to establish such an institution did not however follow immediately after this act of 1877.

After a series of trial and error in 1928 through the instrumentality of Major Bain Gary, stability was achieved and an institution then known as the Teachers Training Centre (TTC) was established. The Teachers Training Centre (TTC) became, after eighteen years, the Government Training College ( GTC) in 1942. Then on the 7th of December 1976 it was renamed the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

First Guyanese Principal The college was named the Cyril Potter College of Education in honour of Robert Gladstone Potter, a distinguished son of Guyana, scholar and educator. Mr Potter was the first Guyanese Principal of this noble institution. He made a significant impact on the college through his dedication and remarkable intelligence. Mr Potter died at the age of 76 at his home. He wrote the National Anthem and some national songs. His memory lives on today in the name of the college ( Cyril Potter College of Education) .

The Certificate to Associate Degree Programme Prior to Academic Year 2010 - 2011, the Cyril Potter College of Education focused on a three- year Certificate of Education programme in Early Childhood Education, Primary and Secondary Education. Successful graduates earn a Trained Teacher Certificate. CPCE has a main campus at Turkeyen, Georgetown, that offers a pre-service training via a distance mode for untrained teachers who are already teaching in the system. There are also several satellite centres spread throughout the country.

The Government of Guyana along with the Ministry of Education recognized that there was need to improve the quality of trained teacher education in Guyana. They therefore developed an Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2008- 2013 to address this need and a project was formulated.

**Project Goals / Objectives ** The project development objective (PDO) is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of quality teacher education in Guyana. Furthermore, the Project will support the higher order objective of improving the learning achievement of Guyanese school with the Government’s ESP, 2008- 2013 which aims to raise the standard of living in Guyana through improving Education in its overall effectiveness. According to the strategic plan, improving the quality of teacher education will contribute to improving students’ learning which in turn will help to develop a citizenry able to modernise Guyana, to become more productive and tolerant, and to live in mutual respect.

In November 2009, a workshop organised by the world bank and the task force provided a forum for stakeholders from Guyana to further develop the strategy by articulating the Government’s vision, proposed policies, and activities necessary for reforming the delivery of teacher education. As a result of these efforts, the following priorities have been identified for reforming the delivery of teacher education in Guyana:


 * Supporting the collaboration between the CPCE and the UG to provide a well-articulated highly competitive teacher education and training programme, equal in scope and quality to any within the region – upgrading the teacher certificate to an Accredited Associate’s Degree and adjustment of the B.Ed. program at UG;
 * Building human resource capacity at CPCE and UG to improve the quality of education provided for and by teachers in the education system;
 * <span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Improving Science and Technology Education;
 * <span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Increasing CPCE and UG’s capacity in relation to information and Communication Technology to strengthen their abilities to become true dual mode institutions and integrate ICT into teaching and learning process;
 * <span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12pt;">Expanding library services and the improving research capacity.

<span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12pt;">The new Associate Degree Program reduces the duration of time of the teacher training program from three(3) to two(2) years. Upon successful completion of the ADE Program the teacher will receive an Associate Degree in Education and can therefore pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Education(B.Ed.) at the University of Guyana. This will take two(2) years to be completed. In essence, the collaboration between CPCE and the UG will afford the teacher a Bachelor’s Degree in Education within four years, unlike the Certificate Program which takes seven years.

<span style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Bookman Old Style",serif; font-size: 12pt;">This Program started in October, 2010 under the Ministry of Mr. Sheik Baksh (the then Minister of education) The population of the first batch of the ADE trainee teachers was approximately five to six hundred. Persons who entered this program had met the following minimum requirements: Five(5) subject at one sitting or six(6) subjects at two sittings. The ADE program continues and the first set of ADE students will graduate in 2012.