Exam-level students returned to schools across Guyana yesterday while observing safety protocols to protect themselves from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Following the first face-to-face interactions between teachers and students since March 13th, Stabroek News visited some schools and was assured by all that everyone was taking the safety measures implemented to safeguard against COVID-19 very seriously and revision practice was a success on the first day back.
Ricardo Ramlall, a Grade Six student at West Field Prep Schools spoke with Stabroek News just after getting out of his revision classes. He related that his day was met with him and his classmates diligently following a number of strict rules, including wearing of face masks all day. This, Ramlall said, was somewhat suffocating for him. However, he was able to concentrate on his school work. The National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) level student said that his class has 12 persons in it and they were each sitting at a safe distance away from each other.
A teacher from Moblissa Primary School, located along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, did not want to be named but said “For the first time since working there I was met with a gate, our school compound now has a gate. There, the guard, who was well equipped with his mask let me through and directed me to the sanitation area, which is right by the fence and a far distance from the gate. After washing my hands with soap and water, I was met by the cleaners who sprayed the bottom of my shoes with a bleach solution. The headmaster then used the thermometer to check temperature. Everyone entering to compound went through this process. Once all my students were present and seated at an appropriate distance, I got right to work since our time was limited.” She noted that based on yesterday’s interaction, she could tell that some of her students had fallen behind in certain subject areas but she advised them to continue working hard.
The Grade Six teacher then went on to explain that because the class has a small number of students, they were able to use this to their advantage and have all the students stay in one class but with an appropriate space between them. “It went fine. I set a time table before hand and prepared working materials. My pupils had a half hour break after the first half of the day and then the same protocols were followed for the afternoon session,” she explained. She also said that she was impressed with the way teachers were taking precautions as directed by the ministry and the children were encouraged to follow suit.
The Principal of a secondary school located in Georgetown also asked not be named when he explained that a total of six subjects were taught at his school yesterday. “We have a time table for teachers who agreed they would be there today and so those students went today based on the teachers’ request, so we didn’t allow all of them to be there at one time,” he said. He noted that this made it easier for the students to keep a safe distance from each other and helped to avoid an overcrowding at the school. As a result, a total of 11 teachers turned up to teach, the principal said.
Students preparing to write the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE) were the only students who were asked to return to schools yesterday. This is part of the Ministry’s ‘phased’ reopening of schools after being closed for almost four months.
Schools have been reopened to prepare students for the NGSA, which is scheduled for July 1st and July 2nd, and CXC exams, which are scheduled to begin in July as well.
Preparations for the reopening of schools started last week when teachers and auxiliary staff were asked to go out and help with getting the schools sanitised and have timetables fixed for teaching to resume.
Meanwhile, in a press statement released by the Education Ministry yesterday, two teachers said they would be focusing on revision exercises to ensure that their students are prepared for their respective exams in July.
The statement reported Tallmattie Yadram, who is a Grade Six teacher at Vreed-en-Hoop primary, as saying that she will be doing strictly revision since the Grade Six syllabus was completed before the closure of schools. A Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary, mathematics teacher Anthony Adams, according to the Ministry’s statement, said that his focus is preparing the students for the new format that the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) has implemented in response to COVID-19. Further, the teacher said that he will be practicing multiple-choice questions with his students so that there is greater familiarity with this mode.
