As September marks Education Month, this year’s theme is “Investing in Education, Bridging Gaps, Creating Opportunities”. The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) is always eager for opportunities to reinforce its commitment to providing standards education to students across the country. Broadly, the Bureau’s Standards Education initiatives include the promotion of standards, metrology and the International System of Units through school lectures, competitions and other awareness activities.
As part of its efforts to instill a culture of quality and precision from a young age, GNBS conducts highly interactive lecture sessions with secondary school students across Guyana. These sessions are largely aimed at introducing students to the concept of standards; helping them to understand how standards impact their daily lives, from the quality of products they use to the safety of their environment.
As students return to school tomorrow, Monday, September 02, 2024, the GNBS is keen on reengaging the young minds on the importance of Standards, using accurate and approved measurements, their rights and responsibilities as consumers and the diverse career opportunities within the field of Standardisation. These topics are crucial, not only for helping students and pupils to develop a preference for quality goods and services, but also for them to encourage their parents/guardians and peers to exercise their rights and ensure due diligence as consumers.
During September, the GNBS’ Corporate Communications team will be travelling to the Essequibo Coast, Region Two as well as Linden in Region Ten where school lectures are planned for the Grade Ten and Eleven students of the Johanna Cecilia, Abram Zuil, and Charity Secondary, and Linden Foundation and Wismar Secondary, respectively. These sessions are a customary part of the Bureau’s outreaches to the various regions. Completing these lectures will bring the total to twenty-one (21) for the year, educating more than two thousand (2000) students and teachers.
Apart from lectures to secondary school students, the GNBS conducts a Standards in Academia Quiz Competition. This biennial activity is tailored specifically for primary schools and involves pupils competing intra and extra regionally with their peers of other schools based on their learned knowledge on the importance of Standards and Measurements for consumer protection and business development.
In October, as part of its National Quality Week (NQW) activities, the GNBS has planned an Impromptu Speech Competition for the students at schools in Region Five. This year’s theme for NQW is “Shared Vision for a Better World: Standards for the Changing Climate.” As such, the competition will focus on how standards are useful in addressing impacts of climate change.
As many Bureaus worldwide try to adopt similar strategies like what already exist in Guyana between the GNBS and the Ministry of Education (MOE), the GNBS looks forward to building on what exists. The Bureau’s dedication towards promoting standards education is a testament of its commitment to creating a quality-conscious society, starting from the classroom. No doubt, through these efforts, the GNBS is laying the groundwork for a future where standards are not just understood but embraced as a fundamental aspect of national development.
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