The Amerindian Peoples’ Association (APA) yesterday urged that hinterland students get “constructive redress” before sitting exams in July since these students have had little or no access to learning for almost three months.
Following the Ministry of Education’s decision to go ahead with administering the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Carib-bean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) next month, the Amerindian Peoples Association released a statement where it touched on concerns about indigenous and hinterland students who have been “heavily” impacted by the repercussions of the COVID 19 outbreak in Guyana.
It stated “We urge that students from indigenous and hinterland students be afforded constructive redress and not be made to face situations for which they are not prepared. We urge that the Ministry consider an extended timeframe that allows for students to get back into the school and other learning system to be able to cope with the various exams facing them,” and added that these students “are already challenged by the many disparities in accessing quality education that exist between hinterland students and those who reside on the coastland.”
The release said that following the closure of schools on March 16, the Ministry of Education introduced its E-learning system and the release of workbooks for Grades 2, 4 and 6. Therefore catering for students writing the National Grade 2, 4 and 6 exams. But, the children in grades 1, 3, and 5 were not provided for (worksheets were posted online), as well as children in the secondary level (however, websites such as Khan Academy, Oxford Owl and Brain Central, to name a few, were recommended by the Ministry). The Guyana Learning Channel, by means of regional radio stations also supplemented the hard copy workbooks. It also said that the APA has since learnt that some Regional Educational Officers took the very laudable initiative to provide some workbooks for Grades 1, 3, 5 but it is not clear if these were done for all of the regions.
Additionally, secondary school students living in dormitories away from home had no choice but to return to their respective communities. To further explain how many students were left to their own devices for almost three months following the closure of all schools, the statement said that the University of Guyana presented their strategy which allows students to continue studies through online classes. However, where this is not possible, these students were left to consider taking a leave of absence from pursuing their studies. This, the APA said has not worked out well for indigenous and hinterland communities. It commended the effort to bridge the technological gap between the coast and the hinterland through the establishment of ICT hubs and e-government internet access but admitted that the internet service is not very reliable for sustaining e-learning and due to the lack of reliable electricity in many communities, the alternative [private internet service] is expensive to utilise for prolonged periods. The association also mentioned that some communities cannot access regional radio stations, let alone television stations or even access listening devices.
Hence, this has been a challenging time for many of the students since they were forced to stop whatever form of classes they have been accustomed to attending and therefore have been without teaching and learning sessions for more than two months. The APA added that teachers have also been affected since they have had to adapt to the sudden transition in teaching regime and many might have even struggled with this.
While the Ministry has issued a release informing the public that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams will be written using the paper-based modality, the APA states that this does not solve the lack of preparedness which many students are currently facing. It also asked “What representation, if any at all, has the Ministry of Education made on behalf of students from indigenous and hinterland communities to the CXC Council” when keeping in mind, the aforementioned issue? While the statement also asked whether the exams will be written in the very location the students are currently in, the Ministry released a list of flights (official dates are to be set) on Wednesday and informed that examination papers will be transported from Georgetown to hinterland regions via the Eugene F. Correia International Airport.
Questions about how the students on the hinterland scholarship programme and those with Public Service Ministry scholarships will access stipends while being at home in the hinterland, were also raised.
