Indranie Lall, whose son, Roven Lall, secured a seat at Queen’s College after he excelled at the National Grade Six Assessment 2020, said that her son is adjusting well with his secondary education online classes.
She disclosed that the younger Lall had begun using the online classes method even before writing the NGSA as all schools were closed from March, 2020. Lall related that given the circumstances it has been a normal transition. She said that her son is up to date with his classes for the most part and is adjusting well. She noted that this could be because he was already learning that way and conditioned himself to sit an exam outside of the chalk-and-talk environment.
When asked to share her opinion on the online learning method, Lall stated that she does not like online classes because of the potential adverse effects it can have on the children’s health. She explained that her son begins his classes, on the computer, from 9 am and is not released from classes until 4 pm. But after normal classroom hours, he also has homework and other assignments to complete, and therefore the length of time he will eventually be in front of the computer can extend until 7 pm. She fears the light from the computer monitor will have a negative effect on his sight because of the long periods.
Lall also said that she finds having children at home to be a challenge because of the many distractions. She noted that she doesn’t let her son eat or distract himself with other activities when he has to attend his classes, as these are the rules had he been in class. She recommended to other parents who are struggling with this new learning method, to try this rule to keep their children focused. She also said that parents or guardians who are left to monitor children have to be strict in order to get them to remain focused on their classroom studies. Lall added that children will always find other things to do if parents leave them on their own.
Concerning the school and classes, Lall is high in praise of the teachers at Queen’s College for their commitment and willingness to assist students at any time. Even though the workload can sometimes be a bit too much and it’s sometimes hard for the children to keep up with all of their assignments, she said that group assignments allows the children to get to know each other. Internet connectivity and access to a device to discuss assignments, however, do make it difficult for the students to complete tasks as quickly as if they were in school. When asked about her son’s transition from primary to secondary level, Lall explained that though the children are not physically socializing, like meeting and making new friends like they should, the virtual meet-ups were strange at first but then continuous online class interactions did assist with bonding.
Difficult
Meanwhile, a hinterland-based parent (who asked not to be named) explained that her daughter (a ninth grade student) often finds it difficult to complete her school tasks because of continuous internet issues. The parent, who is also a Primary School teacher and is from the Moruca sub-region, Region One, explained that Digicel is the single service provider in her sub-region, and therefore, both she and daughter rely on their data services for her daughter’s online classes as well as her own classroom. The mother and teacher stated that she is indeed thankful for the availability of the cellular network, which allows her daughter to complete school assignments, but the system doesn’t always work well. The teacher believes the source of the internet connection problems is from the network’s end. She said that since November there have been some issues with getting the data plan to work efficiently and when it does work, the data is used up very quickly even while the network is slow. She also said that it is costly when you have to put on data plans with slow connectivity.
She further said that as a teacher she has a class of 26 pupils. She informed that of the 26 pupils, sometimes only four who have access to both the internet and devices will attend. This, she said, makes it difficult to keep all the students updated. The print material which the Ministry of Education has provided for every grade takes some of the burdens of the teachers’ shoulders, but in Region One, it is difficult to collect the worksheets. She said that the parents and pupils in the area have to travel far distances to get to school and, added to the journey, is the reality that these children are often younger than 11 years and they cannot be left at home alone. She said that it has been a challenging experience but both she and the parents try their best.
The teacher has identified another major weakness since the transition to online classes occurred. According to her, many of her pupils cannot rely on parental support to complete school assignments because, from what she has observed, many parents in the area lack the requisite academic skills-set. This, the teacher continued, makes it hard for them to help with practicing the school work with their children. In addition to expressing fears and concern for her pupils’ academic well-being, the teacher stated that this new method of teaching and learning is also presenting difficulties for the parents she has had interactions with.
Schools have been closed since March 2020 when the first coronavirus case was confirmed. Since the closure, the Ministry of Education kept schools closed until August when the People’s Progressive Party/Civic administration took office and the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, noted that the children could not go on without learning. Manickchand announced that schools would be reopened on virtual
platforms for learners and as of September 7, 2020 students returned to learning. They were introduced to virtual classes and worksheet learning. The Guyana Learning Channel, newspapers and the Radio are also being used as supporting platforms for learners. On November 9th, 2020, schools were authorized to hold classes for students of grades 10, 11 and 12. COVID-19 practices were incorporated to ensure the safety of both teachers and their charges.
