Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) General Secretary Coretta McDonald is in support of students and teachers being tested for COVID-19 for their return to schools, which she says should be standard for all students back at schools.
Schools were reopened on January 4 for virtual classes and in-class time-tabled sessions are being held for the senior grades. The Ministry of Education has not done testing on students in all schools but said that the students returning to the dormitories at public schools have to be tested before they are placed in the classroom.
During a telephone interview yesterday, McDonald said that having the Grades 10, 11 and 12 students tested as they return to their physical classrooms will help to put both teachers and students at ease.
She said that knowing the status of the persons who are at school will make persons more comfortable while “not knowing adds to some of the stress, if I could put it as that, with regard to how you operate a school.” She added, “When you know, you could operate at ease, when you don’t know you have to be itchy because everybody is a suspect.”
McDonald said that while the dorm students are currently being tested, the students from other secondary schools should also be tested. She said that testing the students who are in and out of the classroom would help to enforce the need for persons to follow regulations as they would now know the status of the students who are in their homes and communities.
The Ministry had previously explained that the decision to test students staying in dorms was taken due to the time and proximity these students will be around each other. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has advised that it is not necessary for all school students to be tested since they are still mandated to wear face masks and keep a safe distance from one another.
Since the reopening of schools, a total of 30 students, 11 teachers and 13 ancillary staff have tested positive for the respiratory disease.
