The first batch of 58 students today graduated from the Bertram Collins College – an institution designed to train persons desirous of becoming public servants.
According to a Ministry of the Presidency (MOTP) statement, President David Granger urged to be politically neutral and to provide the best technical advice to whichever political party is in power. “The public service is required to act without ‘fear or favour, affection or ill will’ towards the public in the performance of his or her duties, that is what it means to be a professional,” he said at the College’s inaugural graduation ceremony at Ogle.
He also urged the graduating class to let their training at the College serve as a stepping stone to higher learning; noting Guyana’s development demands a public service that is educated, motivated and organised.
The Head of State, the release said, noted that simply walking off the street and passing a job interview is not enough and the Government aims to have public servants that possess intelligence, integrity, impartiality and identity; qualities that are the hallmark of professionalism.
Senior Executive Director of the College, Col. (ret’d) Lawrence Paul, in his remarks, said that the mission of the College is to develop a dynamic public service with the appropriate knowledge and skills to meet the everyday challenges in public administration and to perform their duties diligently in the best interest of the Government of the day and society at large.
The one-year programme includes six months of theoretical work in classrooms, where 17 modules of academic study were done, a study tour and four months of work attachment to various ministries and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils. Accreditation for the College from the University of Guyana is currently being pursued. Additionally, an official Act for the College has been ratified by the Ministry of Legal Affairs and will be tabled early next year in Parliament. This will allow the institution to become an autonomous entity.
Col. Paul also informed that a permanent, state-of-the-art structure will be erected to house the institution at Ogle, which will be funded by a US$10M grant from the People’s Republic of China.
Meanwhile, the College, which is the brainchild of President Granger, was named in honour of Dr Bertram Collins, a Guyanese international scholar and writer in the field of public administration.
Minister of Public Service, Dr Rupert Roopnarine, Minister of State, Mr Joseph Harmon, Minister of Public Security, Mr Khemraj Ramjattan, Minister of Public Health, Ms Volda Lawrence, Minister of Agriculture, Mr Noel Holder and Minister of Social Cohesion, Dr George Norton were all in attendance at the ceremony.
