The Education Ministry has announced that the current school term will end on December 18 to facilitate the two-week vacation period for students during the Christmas season.
This is according to a memorandum signed by the Chief Education Officer Dr Marcel Hutston. The document also noted that schools will reopen for the Easter Term 2021 on January 4.
File photo: Children returning to school under strict COVID-19 guidelines
Schools have been closed in Guyana since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They were briefly reopened to facilitate key exams for primary and secondary pupils.
When the new PPP/C Government assumed office in August, Education Minister Priya Manickchand began a series of consultations with stakeholders regarding the possibility of reopening schools.
It was initially decided that schools would remain closed but the Education Ministry would spearhead a multi-faceted approach to learning to ensure students are meaningfully engaged until a period when it was safe to reopen schools. This approach included the distribution of physical worksheets to students, online learning and the broadcasting of educational materials via radio and television. In some instances, chalkboards were erected in various communities to assist students.
All the while, the Education Minister continued consultations with stakeholders on the reopening of schools. Eventually, it was decided that schools would be reopened on November 9 – for Grades 10, 11 and 12 and those attending practical, technical and vocational institutes.
The Education Ministry had also given parents the option of keeping their children home if they were uncomfortable sending them back to school in the COVID-19 situation.
It was reported that there was a 60 per cent turnout of the 21,000 registered students for Grades 10, 11 and 12 on the first day of reopening.
The Education Minister would have later revealed that some 2000 students have not turned out to school since the reopening for Grades 10, 11, and 12.
She made the announcement on Saturday last whilst delivering remarks at an event hosted by the First Assembly of God Wortmanville Church in Georgetown. During her address, Minister Manickchand said that the reasons for absenteeism include a number of issues including fear of the pandemic. Other issues, she highlighted, could be parents not having enough resources to send their children to school.
As such, the Education Minister had committed to engaging churches, temples, masjids, and other religious bodies and organisations to assist the State in determining where the students are and how they can be supported in their efforts in pursuing an education.
One of the main thrusts behind the reopening of schools had to do with concerns about learning loss. Minister Manickchand had previously explained that international data shows that the longer children are away from school, there is a likelihood of having serious learning loss and school dropouts. (G11)
