Students are beginning to express anxieties about a Ministry of Education plan to have classes begin on June 15 for CSEC and CAPE exams in July.
At a webinar on Friday, Ministry officials disclosed that Guyana had opposed the July exams plan but was outvoted at the CARICOM Council for Human and Social Development.
“As it is right now, students are not fully prepared. To be dealing with frustrations about COVID-19 and then being thrown into an exam room, an exam they are probably not even prepared to write, I don’t think so,” a 16-year-old student of St Joseph High said yesterday when speaking about the decision. Wishing to remain anonymous, she said that she will write her exams because she does not want to be set back by a year but mostly because the decision has already been made. Additionally, she said that her parents have discussed this with her and they agree that the conditions are challenging but the options are limited.
Another student who will write the exam, Reseeda Hack, 18, of Queen’s College said that she feels as though “I’ll be writing it out of compulsion”. Worried for not only her safety but also what her results will look like, Hack said that she is not in agreement with the choices being made for the students. “In my opinion the decision of CXC to hold exams in July is in blatant disregard of the safety and health of students. The body refused to consider the many pleas made by some countries to have the exam postponed and went ahead with their plans despite the obvious threats posed by COVID-19,” Hack said of the council’s decision.
Objected to
The decision to have the examination written in July was objected to by Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, which raised concerns regarding the regional council’s decisions. However, the decision was finalised after a majority of countries in the region were in agreement with the Caribbean Examination Council’s decision, according to the Ministry of Education.
To this, Hack said that she does not think that the Ministry tried enough to alter the council’s decision, especially since Guyana is one of the larger member states.
“The Ministry’s decisions, as of late, have been incredibly disappointing. Based on the continuous rise that we have seen in the number of (COVID-19) cases I would’ve expected them to object to the writing of examinations in July, and based on their position, I do believe that CXC’s decision could’ve been altered. Their proposal to open schools from the 15th without properly consulting stakeholders is balderdash,” Hack stated.
Brina Rai, who attends St. Joseph High, said that she is “baffled” by the decision to have schools reopened and students to sit exams when the country still has active COVID-19 cases. She noted that the Ministry closed schools to prevent further transmissions but now when cases seem to be going away, it is willing to risk a recurrence.
Absurd
“When there were barely a few confirmed cases of COVID-19, the Ministry decided to close schools for the safety of the people and now that the cases have increased significantly they’re requesting schools to be reopened? That logic is absurd and I highly disagree with this decision. Both the Ministry and CXC are asking us indirectly to choose between the exams and our lives,” the teenager said.
There was one student who said that she does not mind sitting the exam but is concerned with the safety of it all. “I really don’t mind the date set but it’s how we will be placed in school for our exams that worries me. Cases for COVID-19 are increasing in Guyana and I know students won’t listen to the rules that will be put into place and if one child is infected. Then he or she could spread it to the whole school very easily,” Shondell Marshall, of Leonora Secondary, told the Sunday Stabroek.
Marshall also shared that many persons would feel some discomfort from wearing masks all day. “Wearing a mask for a prolonged period is very uncomfortable. Sometimes it gives me bad feelings and my head hurts as well. I think it’ll be very hard to concentrate on what is being taught while wearing a mask and feeling uncomfortable,” Marshall added.
Rai also shared her thoughts about how successful she believes the measures will be and opted for at-home learning to continue until the actual day for the exam.
“I personally think that regardless of what guidelines and safety protocols they put in place, it won’t prevent students from socializing and interacting with one another when they’re reunited in school which would be defeating the whole purpose of taking precautionary measures. The simplest mistake made in failing to uphold the safety protocols can endanger the lives of students and teachers, as well as the families of those individuals. I don’t think parents would agree to send their children out knowing that their lives are in danger, just to attain some knowledge which might help to pass the exams they can rewrite at a later date. However, since it’s almost crunch time and students as well as teachers are already familiar and adapted to the online classes, why not just continue like that instead of endangering people’s lives?” Rai suggested
Hack agreed with Rai and said that it is her opinion that the decision to hold exams in July is “in blatant disregard of the safety and health of students”. She further added that some countries have opened schools and seen a significant rise in the number of active cases. She then asked whether the exam needs to be written so urgently when other examination bodies all around the world have either cancelled or postponed examinations. “What is this examination body trying to prove?” she asked.
Although the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has disagreed with the Ministry’s decisions and advised teachers not to return to schools, a secondary level teacher said that teachers should do what is best for them, their jobs and their students.
“I would like to ask if they could make over the exam but the CXC is against that so we don’t have a choice, what other exam would Guyana offer for children to take?” the teacher, who requested anony-mity, said. In addition, she addressed the GTU’s position where it advised that teachers not turn out to school. “They tell us to stay home. But what is GTU going to do for the teachers if they stay home and get fired? They aren’t going to pay us. COVID-19 has been in the country for some time. The GTU hasn’t done anything to help teachers survive. We can’t depend on GTU. If you’re able to meet your students online and you’re able to teach them, then it will continue like that and if you care about your children, I think you would reach out to help,” she said, adding that teachers will be endangering their lives too and those of their families. The Communications Studies teacher advised that teachers make the decision to return to schools based on how prepared they believe their students are and with the health of themselves and their students in mind.
Fortunate
She said that not many teachers were as fortunate as she was. “I am going to get my students ready. I have been working with them and I know they are ready to some extent. But that is a bit selfish to think that because my students are ready, means other students are”, she said. She advised that teachers must make the decision of returning to schools solely on how well they want their students to do. She said that not many teachers might have the same advantages as she had, therefore she does not know how well students have been trained especially students in the hinterland areas and places where access to learning was limited.
Additionally, the teacher said that while she agrees that it would be a risk and she does not feel comfortable stepping out, she thinks that it is the individual’s responsibility to ensure they take as many precautions as needed when they are out there. She said that when the need arises she intends to take as many precautions as possible because that is her responsibility.
She added “It depends on where you left off as a teacher, if you finished the syllabus then yes, maybe you don’t need to go out but if you didn’t do a lot of work then it would take some time to get children aligned.”
The ministry has gazetted an order for strict COVID-19 protocols to be instituted while the exams are administered.
