Guyana Teachers’ Union President Mark Lyte on Thursday urged the Ministry of Education (MoE) to continuously engage with teachers to tackle issues within the school system, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the resumption of classes in schools across the country, which was broadcast by the ministry, Lyte stressed said that the MoE has to speak directly with teachers to know what issues are being faced at schools.
He noted that it was necessary to have the students return to the physical classrooms but also noted that there has been vaccine hesitancy among teachers and students and inequity of supplies for schools across the regions. Lyte said that the teachers are the persons who are on the ground and they know what challenges are being faced at schools. For this reason, he said that the teachers are the ones who need to be a part of the ministry’s response to the pandemic. Further, he said that there should be constant reevaluation of the protocols in place with regards to the reopening of schools and to address the inequity in the different regions.