Minister of Education Priya Manickchand has confirmed that training for teachers to take advantage of online teaching portals will commence soon.
Manickchand on Thursday told this newspaper that as the new school year begins, she intends to use any means that are available to ensure that students across the nation are able to be taught while the schools remain closed physically.
During the telephone interview, the Minister of Education said that the ministry will train teachers on how to properly use all online portals for teaching while meeting the needs of students who don’t have internet access via the use of workbooks and educational programmes. She also said that parents will be continuously informed of steps taken towards the readiness of schools for reopening.
Manickchand said that teachers will be informed of all the advantages and features that can be used to make the online teaching a worthwhile experience. She said that the training will be launched shortly and will benefit teachers who have access to the internet.
Not forgetting that there are parts of the country where internet and television or radio are not accessible, the Minister said that there is a multi-faceted approach on its way which will meet the needs of those who do not have reception for either radio, television, or internet. She mentioned that by using different methods to deliver work, students and teachers from every region will be catered to.
“We have to look at delivering education in a non-traditional means [as] no one forum or one means of transmission is going to serve the whole country. So we’re going to have to use a multi-faceted approach for different reasons. Now where on the coast you might be able to do some online teaching, in some areas you’re going to have to use the learning channel, in some areas we’re going to have to distribute print material. There is not going to be one thing in any place simply because of the challenges we have, connectivity or reception of television. Some places won’t get either of those things but they might get the radio so if there is the radio in those places we might work for the radio. So it’s never going to be any one method that will satisfy every school, every child, every teacher across the country,” Manickchand explained.
She further said that while the Learning Channel will be the main portal for the “classroom type information”, the use of workbooks, online classrooms, and radio is encouraged. More specifically, she said that currently there are workbooks being accumulated for distribution to the parts of the country which do not have reception and internet access.
Manickchand reminded that the Ministry of Education will be teaming up with the Guyana Teachers’ Union to visit schools across the country to ensure that they are properly equipped for the reopening of school. Although, schools will not be reopened until the Ministry of Health has given the green light for a safe return to physical learning. The Minister also said that the ministry has an ongoing project with UNICEF to ensure children will be safe when schools do reopen.
