By Shuntel Glasgow
As the teachers’ strike entered its 53rd day yesterday, parents are continuing to express concern over their children being at home for prolonged periods. Many schools around the Georgetown and East Coast Demerara recorded little or no attendance yesterday.
This newspaper visited several schools around the city and observed that a majority of the schools were without teachers and students. While commuters were traversing the streets, the silence within the school compounds stood out as children who are usually seen playing or interacting with each other were absent. St. Sidwell’s Primary, Enterprise Primary and St. Margaret’s Primary were among the many Primary Schools visited. Student-teachers from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) were however present in some schools. Schools along Woolford Avenue were open with children and teachers present. Stabroek News understands that since the re-commencement of the strike, attendance at these schools has dropped significantly compared to the last strike in February.
Some parents who spoke to the Stabroek News, explained that teachers had created WhatsApp groups through which worksheets for various subjects were sent. However, while this is convenient to some, others are affected because some children do not have access to devices to facilitate their leaning exercises. Some parents also explained that first, the daily task is sent by the teacher to their phones, a copy of the document is printed for their child, a process which they describe as being expensive. They explained that visiting the internet café to print documents daily is an added strain on their pockets. They opined that the government should take into consideration those children that are attending public schools. Furthermore, as the battle continues between the GTU and the government, the children are affected.
Others are inconvenienced because of the changes resulting from the strike; parents explained that it was normal for children to attend school in the morning and return home at noon. With the strike, alternative arrangements had to be explored to care for the children at home. Some children are sent to day care, while others are sent to relatives.
The Ministry of Education had announced on May 15th that given the weeks of instructions already lost and the limited number of weeks remaining in the school term, a decision was made to annul the annual examination, but some parents are indicating that some schools are insisting that annual examinations will be held for primary school students. According to the MoE memo, no public primary and secondary school is to conduct annual examinations in the August term of 2024 but instead all schools are to conduct continuous assessments. Additionally, the ministry also announced that the end-of-year score for Grade 9 should not be the main criterion for streaming into Grade 10 and consideration must be given to the student’s choice of stream. Circular 13 of 2023 must be adhered to when streaming of the students is done, the ministry advised. The National Grade 5 Assess-ment will be administered as usual.
Melissa Walcott, a mother of three, told Stabroek News that her children are engaged in online leaning exercises and said that while it is convenient, adequate internet access plays an important role in accessing Word documents that are sent via WhatsApp. However, she described her experience as frustrating to sit and lecture the different topics to each child along with her other responsibilities and daily job commitments. “They would usually send like worksheets to my phone but it is frustrating to explain different things to all three of them. I still got to cook, clean and wash and I get to work at 7 in the morning. When they were going school, I just had to study the homework in the afternoons and revision, but they are at home now, so you see the difference. I would send the stuff over to their tablets before I go to work but when I gone, who supervising them? While the government holding out, the children suffering.”
Shondella Seymour, a mother of one, told Stabroek News that the government should consider the children attending public schools. Seymour explained that while they (government) are holding firm in their decision, the nation’s children continue to suffer. According to Seymour, her monthly budget is affected because providing money for printing worksheets is now the new norm. She referenced the cost of living that is on the rise and concluded that it is difficult to navigate the crisis. “They holding out and not trying to understand the teachers’ right and then when the teachers not in school, the children will suffer. Why are they not thinking about how the children will be affected? How long will the government take to resolve this issue?”
Minibus drivers, who are also impacted by the strike, collectively explained that the number of trips daily along the various routes have been reduced because of the poor school attendance. The drivers explained that pupils and students play an important role in their daily production. Further, the strike was described as the ‘second wave’ and as a result their finances are fluctuating making it difficult for them to survive with inflation.
