“Take a second look” – Brigadier Mark Phillips tells Education Ministry

School reopening amid COVID-19

The Education Ministry’s decision to reopen schools has been met with strong opposition, from the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) for the threat posed by coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

On Tuesday, Prime Ministerial Candidate of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, Retired Brigadier Mark Phillips addressed the issue during a radio interview on 99.1 FM, by advising the Education Ministry to take another look at its plans – which are seemingly flawed.
With examination students required to report for school next Monday, he highlighted that apart from the implemented measures at the schools, other factors were not taken into consideration.
In fact, the equation failed to address transportation to and from school for these children, implying that they would have to utilise public transport. Public transportation is known to increase chances of contraction, owing to the high volume of people. He also acknowledged that many students will be challenged in maintaining social distancing with each other.

“I think the Ministry of Education, perhaps, should take a second look at this. In many other countries, they’re finding alternative means of assessing students, because the fact you’re putting children back in school…We have adults who are having difficulties conforming to social distancing. Are we going to be able to have the students conform to social distancing? And what are the other sanitary measures? All these measures must be put in place before we think about the students getting back to school,” Phillips zeroed in.
He added, “How are the children going back to school? Are they going to travel in public transport? Obviously. Are we satisfied with social distancing and all health protocols in public transport that we have right now? These are all things that the Ministry of Education should really think through properly.”
The decision to reopen schools has also been met with concerns from parents, many of whom have disagreed with the decision. In fact, they complained that their children would be unable to wear masks for such long periods. The PM-elect pointed out that in reality, many parents will choose to keep their children safe at home instead.
“Unless you satisfy the parents that you really have these systems in place, many of the children will not be allowed by the parents to go to school. I’m not here to tell parents not to send their children to school, but I’m just saying as a Guyanese and once you have children around you, the reality is that you have a concern.
To satisfy worries of all stakeholders, he urged the Ministry to meet with the Union and discuss the way forward. The representative body had said in a release that its correspondences were unreciprocated.
“Based on what I’m reading in the newspaper and even based on the action of the Guyana Teachers Union, it appears that there are still some grey areas that need to be sorted out. The Ministry of Education needs to, if they haven’t done it before, sit with the Teachers Union and come up with a plan that satisfies all stakeholders,” Phillips shared.
Teachers were asked to report to school this week in preparation for the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA); Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) exams.
On Tuesday, the Ministry said school staff cleaned the buildings, installed sinks, and were trained in infection prevention.
This year, the NGSA will be written on July 1 and 2, while the CSEC and CAPE exams will be administered from July 13 to August 4, 2020. For the NGSA, parents were given the choice of keeping their children at home and been awarded a school close to their home. This does not apply to national-level schools.