As September marks Education Month, observed under the theme, “From Classrooms to Communities, Education Transforms Lives,” the Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS) continues to build on its efforts to bring standards and quality awareness into classrooms across the country, and to the wider populace.
Education plays an integral role in shaping school-aged children, and by extension, communities. GNBS has recognised the value of introducing young people to standards from an early age and has developed educational initiatives to connect with this demographic. Through these educational initiatives, the Bureau engages primary and secondary school students in activities tailored to demonstrate how standards influence daily life, from the products we purchase to the services we use.
At the Primary level, the biennial Standards in Academia Quiz Competition is hosted for pupils, while at the secondary level, lectures and the Impromptu Speech Competitions are held. Additionally, it has become customary for the Bureau to accommodate educational tours of its facilities and laboratories for both primary and secondary school students.
With the approval of the Ministry of Education (MOE), GNBS conducts interactive school lectures with secondary schools countrywide throughout the year. These sessions provide students and teachers with opportunities to learn more about the Bureau, its services and the importance of standards, quality and reliable measurements to national development. The lectures also encourage students to become more informed consumers and future professionals who appreciate the value of quality and compliance.
GNBS also hosts school tours for students of primary, secondary and tertiary levels throughout the year, giving them a closer look at the work conducted within its laboratories. Through these visits, students gain practical insight into the importance of testing, calibration, and verification activities that contribute to consumer protection and the improvement of quality in Guyana.
Importantly, the Bureau believes that standards education should not be limited to technical professionals or businesses. By exposing young people to the importance of standards, GNBS is helping to cultivate a generation of consumers, entrepreneurs, professionals and citizens who are more conscious of quality and its role in sustainable development.
GNBS remains committed to working with schools and other stakeholders to ensure that the importance of standards reaches communities across Guyana. By bringing standards into the classroom today, the GNBS, with the support of MOE, is helping to build a culture of quality that can positively influence the decisions, businesses and communities of tomorrow.
For further information on GNBS educational outreaches, tours and more, contact the Bureau at 219-0064–66 or via WhatsApp at 692-4627, or visit www.gnbsgy.org.
