The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) President, Mark Lyte yesterday confirmed that the GTU, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health will be assessing schools’ readiness for a safe reopening.
Two weeks after Education Minister Priya Manickchand met with the GTU, plans are ongoing to formulate a group consisting of officials from each organization to consider the condition of schools across the country for a phased reopening. This is according to Lyte.
On August 11th, Manickchand and the GTU had a meeting when this assessment was suggested by the GTU for the Minister to consider before any steps are taken for a reopening. This newspaper contacted the GTU General Sectary, Coretta McDonald the following day for a comment.
During the telephone interview she told this newspaper that “I’m not sure whether we’ll be able to reopen in November, the fact is many of our schools are not ready to be reopened for the calendar year that we were supposed to have, September 2020 to July 2021. There is still lots more that we need to put into effect with regards to the schools”.
She added: “We have also posited a suggestion where the GTU is willing to have its general council members that are spread across the country to work with the Ministry of Education or to team up with the Ministry of Education officials so that we can visit schools. The Ministry of Education, Guyana Teachers’ Union and Ministry of Health officials…We are going to form committees across the county so that we can visit schools and tick off on our checklist what is expected, what we have seen and what is absent so that we can put those systems in place. When we are fully satisfied that those systems are in place it is only then that we can agree to have schools reopen”.
Schools would have to have enough sanitization areas, masks or sneeze guards installed, a room for persons to be isolated should they show signs of any ailment and also the schools will have to be sanitized and have equipment to have them cleaned regularly. Lyte, however, explained that this has been confirmed and they are currently making a list of persons and activities that need to be identified during the school assessment.
Stabroek News previously reported that the GTU is pushing for online learning and also the use of worksheets or workbooks for students to continue learning while the schools remain closed. Officials including McDonald, the Minister and the former Minister of Education, under the APNU+AFC administration, Nicolette Henry have said that schools would be reopened in a phased manner.
While they wait for the green light on schools, the Education Ministry is working toward having educational programmes broadcast on the radio and television. Teachers are also encouraged to continue online teaching and the Ministry has the backing of the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), who also met with the Minister and has discussed ways to formulate worksheets and work books and to have themdistributed to the hinterland and rural areas of the country.
After consulting with stakeholders, Minister of Education Manickchand on August 14 announced that schools will not be reopened on September 7th for the Christmas term as a result of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
In a video broadcast, Manickchand informed the nation that academic engagement would be carried out in the way it has been since March—virtually, or in some cases, via textbook learning. This approach, she said, will hopefully begin by the second week of September as options for varied means of teaching could be in place but she added that a number of factors had to be looked at. She said that the decision has been taken after consultations with stakeholders.
The Minister said that when she was appointed Education Minister, she promised that science, statistics, and the best nationally recognised practices would guide decisions regarding continued learning for students. She added that along with these factors, plus the backing of the president and other stakeholders involved in the development of the education system in Guyana, the ministry is working toward developing a practical plan that would benefit all in the safe delivery of the curriculum for the Christmas term and onwards.
She said that after becoming aware of the current position – that most students have not been academically engaged in a structural manner since March – the concerns expressed by parents, teachers, and the community were taken into consideration, hence the decision to try to incorporate learning through the safest means possible.
