The project is beginning to establish a model for provision of universal secondary education that is to be used on a national scale, and is working towards helping the Ministry of Education to address the social and economic problems that restrict young people's access to secondary education.
Research is being carried out by local researchers into the social and economic contexts of the two project areas. Local researchers will be called on throughout the project cycle to gather data to inform project development and to participate in monitoring and evaluation activities.
An Education Access Fund is being established to help promote and support community initiatives to overcome constraints to access. Local researchers are well placed to encourage and help people from within their communities to apply for this funding. The researchers will be able to support groups who are wishing to submit proposals for funding to the Education Access Fund. They will be able to publicise the funding available, help ensure that all groups are aware of the criteria to be met and procedures to be followed and provide the support groups need to complete the application form and report on funding used.
The project design stage included two phases of community consultation, the results of which were presented in a report in January 1998. Participatory learning and action (PLA) training and research was conducted in Corriverton and Linden in August and September 1998, and the results were presented in a report by Dr. Janice Jackson and a central presentation to key Government officials of the Ministries of Education and Finance. Since then the PLA researchers in both regions have been involved in a series of activities, including research to support the Baseline Study, training and working as enumerators for the GEAP Household Income and Expenditure Survey, and have recently received training 4 days training in report and proposal writing.
One of the key aims of the GEAP project is to encourage and facilitate increased access to Education for people in the two pilot areas of Corriverton and Linden
One strategy for achieving this objective is the creation of an Education Access Fund which will allocate grants of up to maximum of two hundred and fifty thousand (G$ 250,000) Guyanese dollars to community groups in the two target areas in each of the five years that GEAP will be in existence.
Groups wishing to apply for a grant must meet the following criteria:-
Each application must include the following information:
Applications to the fund can be submitted at any time of the year to the Regional Adviser in Linden or Corriverton who will check to make sure that all the necessary information is included the application.
This will then be passed onto the Regional and/or National Steering Committee where be initially assessed. Successful applications are then sent to the DfID field manager for final clearance. Groups will be notified of the outcome of their applications as soon as possible after the date on which it is considered. Applications will be considered on or around the end of January, April, July and October.
Those wishing to apply for sums over two hundred thousand (G$200,000) Guyanese dollars, will be required to make a verbal presentation to a panel from the Regional Co-ordinating Committees in the project areas.
Groups whose applications have been successful will be required to submit an end of project report showing how the grant was used to meet the objectives outlined in their original proposal.
Groups can apply for a grant if they meet the following criteria:-
Grants can be accessed by completing an application form which includes the following information:-
Applications can be submitted at any time throughout the year.