Schools may remain open during July/ August break to counter learning losses

There has been a full return to face-to-face classes and Minister of Education Priya Manickchand says that schools may remain open during the upcoming July/ August break to help educators recoup some of the learning losses recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Manickchand visited schools on Tuesday morning as the final set of pupils returned to face-to-face classes. The full return to face-to-face classes started Monday last.

Though she said that schools are generally in good physical condition to accommodate children, she raised concerns about the education needed by all learners.

“We really have to find ways to make sure that these children get exposed to the hours of education they need.

“…we may have to work into July/ August and how we do that may be dependent on who’s willing to work,” she said during a live interview on Facebook published by the Ministry of Education.

The full reopening of schools comes after full face-to-face classes were suspended more than two years ago to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus. Since then, learning shifted online and there were eventually some class rotations.

But during that period, local and international stakeholders acknowledged that learners experienced learning losses. There have also been instances of absenteeism and concerns over school dropouts.

“We have real issues academically to pursue,” Manaickchand said on Tuesday.

Ahead of the decision to potentially keep schools open during the July/ August break, Manickchand reminded the public that children returning to schools will each undergo a diagnostic assessment to allow their teachers to understand the learning gaps that might have developed while schools were physically closed.

Additionally, a consolidated curriculum is being used to ensure that children can learn the content from the year before alongside the content of their current year of study.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2022/05/03/schools-may-remain-open-during-july-august-break-to-counter-learning-losses/

Tough measures coming after student found with air gun at Lodge Sec. school

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand says tough measures will be put in place at the Lodge Secondary School after a student was found with an air gun inside his backpack on Thursday morning.

While the police are handling the matter with the Grade 11 boy, Manickchand said if his parents do not attend an upcoming Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) meeting, he will not be allowed back into the school but other measures will be put in place to assist him.

“We are going to put some tough measures in place for the particular school and we are going to hold a PTA, and in that PTA, if the parent doesn’t come, we are not going to accept that child back in school,” Manickchand said during an interview with the Department of Public Information on Thursday.

But she clarified that “this does not mean we leave them to stray on the streets, it means we will take them and go to their homes until we find each of [their] homes and get their parents to understand what is happening in the school.”

The Education Minister noted that there have been frequent reports of violence in schools; as such, she made it clear that this will not be tolerated.

“We cannot have one or two or 10 children hold any school to ransom and it is not going to happen, so I am encouraging parents to check on your children, know what is in their bags, know who they are hanging out with and what kind of friends they have,” Manickchand said.

Only on Wednesday, teachers at the school complained about the prevailing issue of gangs and being threatened  daily by students.

Manickchand explained that the issue will be treated in a “real way” in collaboration with the Guyana Police Force, parents and the communities.

Manickchand said students must understand that while they have a right to an education, other people have a right to enjoy a safe space without fear and “that right will trump any right you feel you have to be disruptive.”

The first preference to deal with the issue is to reform and educate, however, students who continue to engage in violent behaviour can be sent to the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) – a juvenile correctional facility on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two.

“If we find that the regular school environment is unable to do that [reform and educate], there are other institutionalised means in the country called New Opportunity Corps for boys and girls,” Minister Manickchand said.

Further, Manickchand noted that schools with such incidents will require a complete overhaul, physically and academically.

“We will require all the help we can get, from the entire stakeholder community, teachers, parents, students the community, elders, the Ministry of Health, Social Service [and] Local Government.”

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, teachers and students of the Campbellville Secondary School in Georgetown were traumatised after a ‘gang-related’ incident disrupted the entire school on Thursday.

According to the Public Relations Manager of the Ministry of Education, Murtland Haley, the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding between two students at the school.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2022/06/09/tough-measures-coming-after-student-found-with-air-gun-at-lodge-sec-school/

NGSA set for May 3 & 4 next year; results by July 11

Pupils all across the country will sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) on May 3 and 4 next year, Education Minister Priya Manickchand announced on Tuesday. 

Additionally, during a live video on her Facebook page, she said that the results for those examinations will be released about two months later, on July 11. 

Because of the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including protracted school closures, the NGSA was delayed over the past three years. 

This year, the assessment was written in July and the results were announced in September- after the new academic year started. As such, this year’s batch of First Formers (Grade Seven pupils) started school until October. 

Now, however, Manickchand says that she is keen on returning to a normal schedule. 

“We don’t want you guessing, we want this to be as predictable as possible,” she said. 

Importantly, she highlighted that next year’s assessment will be based on a Grade Five consolidated curriculum but will include concepts from other levels. 

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2022/11/22/ngsa-set-for-may-3-results-by-july-11/

Sod turned for expansion of two Georgetown schools

Putting contractors on notice that her Ministry will not be accepting substandard work and delays in the construction of buildings to house students, Education Minister, Priya Manickchand, yesterday turned the sod for the expansion of two schools in Georgetown.

The total cost for constructing the extensions for the two schools, East Ruimveldt Secondary School and St. Winefride Secondary School, is $257M. “… if you do not perform your name will walk before you, and when other jobs come on the site and we say nah nah we don’t want him…” Manickchand said when she addressed a small gathering at the sod turning for the expansion of the St Winefride Secondary School.

According to the Minister, construction opportunities in the public sector are plenty, however, it is up to the contractor to perform. If they don’t receive additional work, it will be their fault. “Don’t be dishonest, don’t cut corners. Understand that if you don’t finish is children that is suffering and for everything you do, ask yourself how would you want your child to be treated?” the Minister asked. Noting that the Ministry’s engineers and technical officers will be very vigilant in supervising the constructions, she cautioned that they will implement penalties for delays. “You go over we will start applying liquidation…” she warned.

In the context of the performance call, when asked on the sidelines of the event if her Ministry required a performance track record of the contractor as a part of its tender requirements, she responded in the negative. She stated that while it makes sense to have a performance register of contractors, her ministry does not have that nor has any evaluation records been shared with her procurement team. She went on to state that after a bid is advertised for a project, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) absorbs the responsibility of the project until it is green lighted by Cabinet.

“The Tender Board has its own rules and… is governed by a particular law called the Procurement Act. I do not hold the jurisdiction to administer that law or interfere with it in anyway. [The Ministry] has to comply with the Act,” she stated, before suggesting that the question be directed to the NPTAB.

More questions are likely to be raised on the importance of a performance record based on the Minister’s comments and in light of the recent award to Kares Engineering for the reconstruction of the North Ruimveldt Secondary School following Kares’s disastrous construction performance of the Kato Secondary School in Region 8.

With the turning of the sod for the new building that will house Grade Seven students at the East Ruimveldt Secondary School, Delph Construction will erect a new building at a cost of $172 million. This building will accommodate 10 classrooms, an administrative block, a sanitary block and air conditioning units. When commissioned, 300 students are  expected to benefit from 10 more spacious classrooms. Meanwhile, Singh and Son, who has been in the construction business for approximately 15 years, will also construct a new building to accommodate a science lab and expanded classrooms at the St. Winefride Secondary School at the cost of $85 million. Both projects are slated to be completed within five months.

“One of the consequences of more children returning to schools was that we didn’t have enough space. The whole space issue was an issue facing the Ministry for the last couple of years and it wasn’t fixed, so it faced us squarely when we came back into schools for face-to-face education,” Manickchand said. She stressed that with the construction of the additional buildings, which will expand the space to accommodate students, Guyana should be on track to achieve universal secondary education. The expansion falls in line with government plans to construct and rehabilitate schools across the country to ensure students have easy access to learning.

“Every child must be able to access a seat in a secondary school to complete their secondary education, and even as we work on achieving universal secondary education, that is, giving every Guyanese child access to this, we want to make sure that the quality you get here is the same quality you will get at a Queen’s College and The Bishops’ High and Anna Regina Secondary School and all other schools across Guyana, the quality must be the same,” she stressed.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/11/15/news/guyana/sod-turned-for-expansion-of-two-georgetown-schools/

New Arthurville primary school to be built on Wakenaam Island

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand visited the island of Wakenaam in Region Three on Monday to engage parents of learners attending the Arthurville Primary School and address their concerns about the deteriorating school building.

Due to the worsening condition of the school’s physical structure over the years, it was decided in March of this year to move the children and teachers out of the school and have them accommodated at the Sans Souci Primary School.

Minister Manickchand informed the parents that the Arthurville Primary School will not be shut down but rather it will be demolished and a new and modern structure will be built at the same location.

The Education Minister was accompanied by Regional Chairman, Mr. Inshan Ayube; Assistant Chief Education Officer (Primary), Mr. Rabindra Singh; Chief Schools Inspector, Mr. Saddam Hussain and Regional Education Officer, Mr. Akbar Chindu.

She told the parents that the decision to move the children and teachers was necessary since it was determined that the building was unsafe to use.

The Education Minister emphasised that contrary to what they might have heard from persons outside of the education sector, there were never talks to close the school completely.

“This school is going to continue but you have to give us time to build it. I can’t know what I know and keep children and teachers here because I won’t be able to live with myself if anything is to ever happen to them,” Minister Manickchand told the parents today.

She said that every effort is being made within Central Ministry and at the Regional level to see how quickly the school can be rebuilt. Minister Manickchand said that the latest the island should expect the new school is 2023, but efforts will be made to have it completed as early as possible.

According to the minister, in the interim, the aim is to ensure the children and teachers are comfortable and that the learners can receive their education.

Before the visit, one minibus was assigned to transport the children from Arthurville to Sans Souci but the decision was made to assign another bus so that children can get to school on time and be much more comfortable while being shuttled to and from the Sans Souci Primary School. (Modified press release from Education Ministry)

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2022/05/10/new-arthurville-primary-school-to-be-built-on-wakenaam-island/

St Stanislaus College gets $5.5m Smart Classroom

A $5.5m Smart Classroom was commissioned yesterday afternoon at St. Stanislaus College, Brickdam, Georgetown, by the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand.

A Ministry of Education release said that the Smart Classroom is accessorized with an interactive board and camera, along with a desktop and laptop computers. The project involved the rehabilitation of the room including electrical works, renovations to the floor and installation of lights and an air-conditioning unit.

Manickchand told the gathering that the smart classroom will allow for technology-infused learning and noted that it will not only enhance the way teachers deliver lessons but also, the way students learn. She highlighted that the commissioning of this smart classroom is in keeping with the ministry’s vision of incorporating technology to transform the education sector.

She posited that the implementation of smart classrooms is integral to creating equity and access across the country and commended the institution for its blended approach to education delivery.

 A new Board of Governors was also installed yesterday afternoon.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/10/21/news/guyana/st-stanislaus-college-gets-5-5m-smart-classroom/

Primary school commissioned at Swan

Minister of Education Priya Manickchand yesterday commissioned a $28.7m primary school at Swan Village, Linden-Soesdyke Highway.

The school was officially opened on September 5, 2022 and has 109 pupils and six teachers.

The Swan Primary School comprises class rooms for grades 1-5. A class for Grade 6 is underway along with living quarters for teachers. In delivering remarks, Manickchand said that residents of Swan had a talk with her two years ago and explained the dire need for a primary school. Previously, pupils had to travel to Yarrowkabra for school on a daily basis which was time consuming and costly.

The village also now has a resource building and a community centre ground. The resource building has a total of 20 computers and readily available internet access. It is used by children of the community for homework and assignments.

In an interview with Stabroek News, acting head teacher of the Swan Primary, Abigail Renville said, “currently we’re having a total of 109 pupils from grade’s 1-5, the children are from Kuru Kuru and Yarrowkabra primary school. We have access to internet and television. I feel good because I know the children used to have a hard time going to school and coming home. Today we have like 91 percent of children coming out to school every day.”

Regional Education Officer, Region 4, Stembiso Grant, in her remarks highlighted some of the schools that are under construction like the Yarrowkabra, Prospect and Good Hope secondary schools, while the Hasling-ton and Vryheid Lust’s nursery schools are currently being reconstructed.

Manickchand was accompanied by Minster of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall and Chairman of Region 4 Daniel Seeram.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/11/23/news/guyana/primary-school-commissioned-at-swan/

Learning loss is biggest scare for some students back at school

Amesha La Rose, a fifth form student of St Ignatius Secondary, Region Nine, is happy to be back in the classroom despite the current anxiety about rising COVID-19 cases across the country. 

Although La Rose acknowledges that there are dangers with the number of COVID-19 cases rising, suspected to be driven by the presence of the Omicron variant of the virus, she said that the students have already had to skip a year of learning and without returning to the classrooms they might never catch up.

“Personally I am happy that school reopened because in the online classes, students were not really focusing,” the teenager said. She explained that it was difficult to be in online classes with connectivity issues in the hinterland region.

La Rose also said that the students were behind and she fears that the 2022 batch of students might not be as successful at the upcoming Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations as those from previous years because they are behind. She said that the teachers are trying their best but the learning loss simply can’t be overlooked.

Additionally, she said some students were becoming unmotivated and discouraged, with some even dropping out or for other reasons no longer attending classes.

Another student, Kevianna Forde, of St. Ignatius Secondary, is also happy to be back in the classroom. Like La Rose, Forde said that it was difficult to be a part of online classes when the schools were closed as she complained that there was bad internet connection.

Forde is not too worried about transmission of the virus in class because she has observed that her classmates wear their masks and have been social distancing. However, another student, Shani Narain, said that she worries about the lack of sanitizers in the classroom. She said that students were provided with personal sanitizers at the beginning of school year but within two weeks that was done. Although she noted that the schools have the wash stations for hand washing and the guards have sanitizers, she recommended constant distribution of sanitizers to students. She added that she has also observed that some students do not follow safety protocols in the classrooms.

Saying that students have suffered significant learning loss due to the closure of schools for an 18-month period, the Education Ministry reopened schools for the secondary, primary and nursery levels for the current Easter term on January 3.

For the Easter term, the ministry has indicated that all secondary school students will attend school every day while Grade Seven students as well as those in primary and nursery levels will rotate between online and in person classes.

However, the new year has seen a spate of COVID-19 cases within schools since the reopening and this has led to several institutions to resort to online teaching.

With the recent surge of cases, the Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) has called for a two-week closure of schools to assess the situation. The union wrote to the ministry and urged that teachers deliver lessons virtually while the schools are closed to face-to-face engagement.

In pressing its case, the GTU reported that 105 teachers tested positive during the five days that schools were reopened, resulting in the forced closure of 15 schools.

Despite the GTU’s position, Education Minister Priya Manickchand has said that schools will remain open to face to face learning.

Not new
Manickchand told this newspaper that teachers and students who tested positive for COVID-19 were either infected prior to or during the first day and that these were also detected during the initial reopening of schools.

“From the moment we opened schools in 2020, from then to now, there have been schools that have been closed and reopened and some of them closed again. Teachers positive and students positive. People got to get tested. That’s just how the school community has been from the time we reopened. This is not new at all. This has not been smooth sailing,” she said.

“If we know the science of Delta or Omicron, you can’t get a positive on Wednesday from something you catch on Wednesday. They had to have caught it five to 14 days before. If we are saying we are to close the schools for two weeks, we have to be closing, for two weeks, everything else that teachers do to have completely non-infected teachers two weeks from now,”  she further argued.

She said that among the schools that have closed is the Bishops’ High, which had 11 teachers who either tested positive or had symptoms of COVID-19 when the school reopened. “So they either came in positive or fell positive on the first day. So they closed so that they can give them a chance to go get tested,” she said.

Manickchand also said that several schools have decided to engage through online means while waiting for the teachers and students in quarantine or isolation since the start of the term. She explained that schools choosing to use online platforms was always an option and the schools were allowed to decide how to engage their classrooms.

At Queen’s College, the students and teachers of Fifth and Sixth forms had to quarantine after they returned to school and a student later tested positive. Another school that opted for online platforms is St Stanislaus College, which has the Brickdam Police Station in the compound. She said that arrangements are being made to have the place fumigated.

As it relates to vaccination for both teachers and students, the minister said that the number of teachers vaccinated can be reflected in accordance with the number of persons vaccinated for each region. Previously it was reported that more than 70 per cent of the teachers in Region Four at the nursery and primary levels were vaccinated. She said that this remains and that data is being collected. She also said that Regions Eight and Ten continue to lag while the other regions have slightly higher percentages in comparison. Meanwhile, just over 42 per cent of the students have gotten their shots. She said that this data is not necessarily representing the students in the school system as some have either dropped out or have graduated and started working.

When the teachers are away
The failure of students to follow the safety protocol is a worry for parents. Sonia Henry, a parent from Mora, Essequibo River, said that when the teachers aren’t in the class, the students are not social distancing. She said that having students close to each other puts them in danger of either contracting or transmitting the virus.

Maggie Savory, a parent, who has a child at a secondary school and the other at a primary schools, said that she has taken it upon herself to constantly remind her children about the importance of face masks and sanitizing. She said that her children haven’t complained about any issues at school but she said that she thinks it is worrying to have them in school.  Both parents said that there have been rumours of COVID-19 cases in the school but that they had not been confirmed. However, the rumours caused some parents to stop sending their children to school for a short period.

A mother of two from Wellington Park, in Berbice, said that she understands what the ministry is doing but she worries about the safety of having her children travel from their home to their schools. “I am living all the way in Wellington Park. One of my daughters goes to school in Rose Hall and one goes to school in Manchester. That means they will have to be travelling to and fro. Now the teachers say they are doing their best to keep the children separated. My daughter at Chandisingh, she said they sit one in a seat. The other one, I went to the school. I saw they are sitting two in a bench. My concern is the teachers are doing their best in school to see that everything is going according to protocol but what happens when they have to take vehicles on the road. Now they are children. They don’t know who they are interacting with on the road. Who vehicle they are taking,” the concerned parent said.

She explained that public transportation has many different persons and people do not know who is infected and who isn’t. She said not all children will constantly remember to sanitize and change their masks. This parent said that she was in support of the GTU’s request because she believes the schools needed that time to assess the surge of cases.

A teacher from Santa Rosa, in Region One, who asked not to be named, said that there is clustering at Santa Rosa Secondary, in violation of COVID-19 social distancing protocol. According to the teacher, in some instances, there are two classes occupying one classroom. In addition, there isn’t frequent sanitizing at the school, the teacher complained. She said that while there is poor internet connectivity in the area and parents find it hard to keep up with online work, there needs to be a system in place to ensure students, teachers and the parents are safe and return to school with ease. She recommended that a rotation system is re-implemented at the secondary levels.

A teacher at the JC Chandisingh Secondary, in Berbice, complained that not every student is turning out to classes and the teachers cannot teach half of the class and leave the other half out. Further, the teacher also highlighted poor ventilation and accommodation at the school. The teacher said that at the school auditorium, there are several classes close to each other and this makes teaching difficult because the students cannot hear over the other classes.

Source: https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/01/16/news/guyana/learning-loss-is-biggest-scare-for-some-students-back-at-school/

Greater vaccination, COVID measures key as schools need to stay open- Manickchand

There have been significant learning losses, including school dropouts, resulting from the changes to the delivery of education because of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is for this reason Minister of Education Priya Manickchand has emphasised that schools need to remain open.

Manickchand reminded reporters on Friday that the ministry had been engaged in a gradual return to schools since 2020. This has been done because the learning losses are well-known.

And earlier this month, there was a greater return to schools with all Grade Six pupils and secondary school students, except Form One students, returning to full face-to-face classes.

Those Form One students are being accommodated on a rotational basis because many of them are not eligible for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for teenagers. Younger children are also attending face-to-face classes on a rotational basis.

Though she acknowledged that there are concerns about children and teachers’ well-being, Manickchand noted that COVID-19 vaccination and adhering to COVID-19 guidelines are crucial.

“If we were to socially distance all our students, we need to double the size of every single school and we can’t do that initially.

“… right now the sense is not to distance, it is to get vaccinated, wear masks, don’t fraternise unnecessarily and get into classrooms to be taught,” Manickchand reasoned.

At the launch of the locally-made Atlantic Reader book series on Friday, UNICEF Deputy Representative to Guyana and Suriname Irfan Akhtar noted that the body welcomed the decision to reopen schools.

Previously, the UNICEF representative Nicolas Pron posited that it is important for children to return to schools.

He explained that the extended closure of schools can have an adverse impact on children, especially the most vulnerable children who have limited access to online learning and may be exposed to violence, abuse and neglect.

It was also pointed out that children make important and healthy connections with friends and teachers while attending schools. This process of socialisation is strained due to the virtual learning medium that has been adopted due to the measures instituted to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2022/01/28/greater-vaccination-covid-measures-key-as-schools-need-to-stay-open-manickchand/

Almost every grade could open during August break; teachers, parents to be consulted

Almost every grade could remain open during the upcoming July/ August break should the ongoing children’s diagnostic assessment indicate that there are numerous learning gaps, Education Minister Priya Manickchand has said.

At the sidelines of an event on Wednesday, Minister Manickchand told the News Room that keeping schools open throughout the break is only one of several possible solutions her ministry is examining to help children recover from educational losses experienced over the two years schools were closed.

“Once we’re going that route, it would have to be almost every grade,” Manickchand said, adding: “Of course, anything that we do would have to have the support of teachers.”

As of Tuesday, children in all grades returned to full face-to-face classes. And this full reopening of schools comes after in-person classes were suspended more than two years ago to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Since then, learning shifted online and there were eventually some class rotations. But on Tuesday, Manickchand said that the Education Ministry was worried about learning losses.

The Education Minister told the News Room that the decision to keep schools open during the break would likely be informed by the ongoing diagnostic assessments.

These diagnostic assessments, it was explained previously, will allow teachers to understand the learning gaps that might have developed while schools were closed. This diagnostic assessment is also expected to provide teachers with an understanding of their overall well-being and what support services they would need.

Each child in the public school system is expected to undergo this assessment.

And Manickchand said that this assessment will indicate which schools or which grades may need to remain open during the break. It can also show whether strategies can be employed during the current school term to help recoup learning losses before the July/ August break.

Source: https://newsroom.gy/2022/05/04/almost-every-grade-could-open-during-august-break-teachers-parents-to-be-consulted/