“I miss my students and sometimes and I worry about them a lot. Sometimes I wish that I could convince their parents to just send them out, even if it is three days a week so I can teach them. I know they are struggling and it hurts me a lot.”
These are the words of a young teacher in a remote area. Unlike in urban areas, there is limited access to the internet and certainly not enough to facilitate online learning. Children in remote areas are given worksheets and these are returned for the teacher to mark them. Like in many parts of the world children in Guyana have not been in a physical school setting for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Some of the parents are not even collecting the worksheets and even if they collect it, sometimes weeks would pass and they would not return them. I would see them from time to time and remind them and they would promise but it would just be a promise,” the teacher said.