Education Ministry launches ‘BE KIND’ campaign 

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has launched a ‘BEKIND’ campaign that seeks to address the upsurge in unkind behaviours being meted out to Guyanese. The primary targets of the ‘BEKIND’ campaign are children, teachers, and parents who have had harsh experiences due to COVID-19 and its impact.

The campaign aims to promote the development of emotional intelligence of children, teachers, parents, and all Guyanese through education and kindness. It also aims to celebrate and amplify the power of kindness through education.

The MoE is cognisant that the advancement of emotional intelligence is critical in helping youths prepare for the difficulties they face as youngsters today, and as grown-ups tomorrow.

Therefore, developing a culture of graciousness and kindness can create a ripple effect that has a far-reaching impact on their families, communities, and country. Recently, the Education Ministry observed that some persons on social media have been unkind to others with what they say and the actions they take while using the platform.

At a time when schools are closed for the majority of the school population due to the Coronavirus pandemic, teachers, parents and students have had to find new ways to ensure learning continues. Towards this end, teachers started using Zoom, WhatsApp, Edmodo and other similar platforms to engage children while they are at home.

This meant that parents have had to play a more integral role in their children’s education for these new approaches to education delivery to be successful. At times some parents found it challenging to navigate across these platforms.

It is in this context that Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand urged social media users to be kinder, less harsh and judgemental and less insensitive.

“Think twice before laughing at, mocking or poking fun at other social media users at this time,” the Minister said. Additionally, Minister Manickchand urged users to be the best version of themselves and urged users not to be bullies but to utilize the forum for upliftment.

The campaign, which runs for an indefinite period, will use engaging and interactive posts to have discussions with users on the platforms on the issue. Also, short videos, sharable graphics, short animated videos and wallpaper graphics will be used for the advancement of the campaign. (Ministry of Education press release)