Citing overcrowding at schools and the severe financial pressures of implementing changes to make them safer, the Region Ten Regional Health and Emergency Committee (RHEC) is asking the Education Ministry to further delay the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).
The request to delay the NGSA exams, slated for July 1 and July 2, has come as schools across the country were reopened on Monday for examination-level students to begin revision sessions with their teachers. In a letter sent to the Ministry of Education, head of the region’s RHEC Orrin Gordon said that while it stands with the Education Ministry in addressing the increased and unfolding challenges it is tackling at this time, it is the committee’s belief that the exams should be delayed due to serious overcrowding at most of the facilities in Region Ten.
The letter, seen by Stabroek News, stated that overcrowding at schools within the region is a major factor that the ministry should consider as a reason for delaying the exam. The letter noted that prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in Guyana, the overcrowding was an issue which the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) was seeking to address. Gordon cited the One Mile Primary, where more than 800 students are enrolled despite a serious space limitation. The letter said, “It must be noted that with NGSA expected to be written on July 1 and 2 and fifteen students to a classroom, a large number of classrooms will be utilized.” Added to that, he said that from the 27 centres that will be used for the NGSA exams, nine of those centres have serious overcrowding issues.
While a number of health regulations have been implemented by the Ministry, Gordon said the region’s schools are being forced against time to implement them on a twelfth of its budget. He further noted the requirement that handwashing sinks (with thermometers) be installed at the various schools and the RHEC’s challenges with pacifying creditors.
As a result, the RHEC suggested that the ministry reconsider the decision to conduct the exams on July 1 and 2, thus allowing for each region and more directly parents and guardians adequate time to prepare and put systems in place to prepare. It also clarified that while the exam is understood to be necessary and in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak the execution of things have been changed, risking the lives and safety of students, teachers and the public would do more damage rather than good.
Prior to the opening of schools on Monday, many other bodies asked that the examinations be delayed for various reasons, including fears over the risk of transmission of the disease and also the limited time in which students were being given to prepare.
While the ministry has stated that the administration of the CSEC exams was out of its control, the decision for the NGSA was based on advice the Ministry has stated it sought with stakeholders. However, some stakeholders have stated that they did not agree with the Ministry’s decision. The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) for example, has stated countless times that it requested the postponement of the NGSA due to its concerns over the safety of students and teachers and also the unpreparedness of students.
Following the Education Ministry’s insistence that it consulted the GTU before making decisions for the reopening of schools, the Union’s President Mark Lyte maintained that its recommendations were not considered by the Ministry of Education.
The union had recommended that the NGSA and the CXC administered exams be postponed until September of this year. Lyte repeated that all of the union’s opinions concerning the opening of schools for exams and the dates set for these exams remain the same: it does not support it.
The Amerindian People’s Association and other Indigenous rights groups have also expressed their concern for the indigenous and hinterland students who they believed have been disadvantage given the little to no access to learning material during the closure of schools. The Association stated in a press release that students should not be put in situations which they are not prepared for and urged the Ministry to give the children sufficient time to fully prepare for their exams. It stated that many students were left to their own devices for over three months, making it a very 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 most of the time they were home. The APA added that teachers have also been affected since they have had to adapt to the sudden transition in the teaching regime and many might have even struggled with this.
Brushell Blackman, Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education, told Stabroek News that while the union did not agree with the Ministry’s decision, the union was consulted, as well as other stakeholders who also gave their opinions on the reopening of schools to facilitate the exams. “The Ministry of Education had to take a number of factors into consideration. The best time for the opening of schools was the time it was announced. Taking all advice the ministry thought it was prudent to open schools at this time. I was not a part of the meeting but I do know that options were considered and this is what the Ministry arrived to after taking all the advisement,” Blackman said. Considering other countries in the Caribbean have also done the same, Blackman noted that the Ministry ensured that it got advice from the Ministry of Public Health, and the approval of the National COVId-19 Task Force and also the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) before making the announcement.
