The National Toshaos Council (NTC), the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) and the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC) are calling for the postponement of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations as they say little or no attention was paid to hinterland students during the almost three-month period in which schools were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We call on the Ministry of Education (MoE) and all other relevant education authorities to pay attention to our situation and to take necessary action to ensure that provisions are put in place for our students to be properly readied and tutored for these exams in a completely fair and just way – and therefore to consider postponement of these exams in the circumstances. We stand in solidarity with those calling for a postponement of these all-important Primary School – Grade Six (Common Entrance), and Secondary School – CSEC exams. Our children have not been sufficiently coached or taught and are not ready for these exams,” a joint statement by the three organisations said.
“This abrupt announcement will have lasting effects on the young children that are being forced to sit this NGSA exam scheduled for July 1st & 2nd. This is just another glaring example where Guyana’s Indigenous peoples’ rights and way of life [are] being trampled. We stand in solidarity with the Indigenous Organisations and their Representatives and with the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) General Council and the parents and students who have expressed concerns and calling for a rescheduling of these exams,” they added.
Schools are reopening from tomorrow to prepare students for the NGSA, which is scheduled for July 1st and July 2nd, and the CSEC, which is schedule to commence the same month.
According to the statement, the MoE and other relevant authorities failed to prepare students for the examinations following the closure of schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and their decision to hold exams is “unfair, neglectful and discriminatory.”
Additionally, they argued that prior to the pandemic there was a gap between education in the coast and the hinterland region but the gap has widened even more over the last three months. Although, the ministry had announced options for students to learn from home and said that it made textbooks and learning materials available on its website, and that educational programmes were aired on radio stations across the country, such services could not be accessed by some hinterland areas due to the lack of internet access. “Even where there may be internet hubs in our villages – these are only at one spot and not conducive to anything related to education,” the groups said before adding that most students do not own devices that would enable them to access the internet.
It was revealed that in the places where cell phone towers exist, there is insufficient bandwidth to upload or download documents. The Aishalton Primary school has been making efforts to do programmes on Radio Aishalton but those programmes do not extend to the secondary school while in Annai, the situation was similar, with limited coverage reaching individual homes but the radio station was off air for a month recently.
As a result, a majority of students have not been able to access any of the at-home learning options provided by the ministry. “Many of us lack the capacity to coach our children with, or mostly without, the materials available. Many of us have not had the opportunity of secondary school education. There has been no known or practical strategy for examinations preparation for Indigenous children,” the statement added.
Further, it was revealed that since the closure of schools, many families have relocated to their farms or ranching areas, where there is little facilities for studies, connectivity or radio coverage.
The organizations also asked what are some of the “practical and effective and safety provisions” being put in place to ensure the safety of teachers and students, while adding that their communities are very vulnerable considering that there are no adequate facilities to handle an outbreak in the respective regions.
“Where is the “Equality of Access to Quality Education” by Indigenous students? Guyana will definitely fail this SDG goal….How will our safety be guaranteed? Exactly what measures will be taken for a teacher to come back to an interior community from the coast at this time? Who will provide the materials to sanitise the schools and classrooms and who will supervise these preparations? How will social/physical distancing be implemented in our classrooms for the exams? With regards to CSEC – most of the Secondary schools are residential schools catering for students from distant communities. What is being put in place to accommodate such students in the time of COVID? What are the social distancing provisions being put in place for dormitories for the shared facilities ranging from transportation, sanitary, sleeping to dining?,” the three organisations questioned.
They said the statement would also be sent to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) headquarters in Barbados. CXC administers CSEC.
