With efforts being made to transition students into physical classrooms, Education Minister Priya Manickchand expects that tertiary institutions will return to face-to-face classes in the New Year.
She said this while speaking at an end-of-year media engagement at the Cara Lodge on Monday. As part of that engagement, she highlighted some of the ministry’s plans for 2022.
Manickchand previously belaboured the learning losses recorded during the pandemic including students being unable to access online learning with some dropping out of school.
On Monday, she raised this point again, emphasising the need for students to return to schools including those attending tertiary institutions such as the University of Guyana (UG), the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) and the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres across Guyana.
“We cannot keep institutions closed because our learners are being severely affected,” Manickchand said.
The Education Minister, however, did not provide an expected date for the reopening of these schools.
The return to face-to-face classes, she explained, comes as people have been provided with the opportunity to get vaccinated and even now, get booster shots.
UG has already commenced a phased return to some in-person activities and with the enduring pandemic placing a strain on students and members of staff, the university could return to face-to-face classes in March 2022.
The university, according to Vice-Chancellor of the University of Guyana, Professor Paloma Mohamed-Martin, will allow some online classes to continue as the university aims for a blended mode of teaching.
Similarly, on Monday, Manickchand said that she hopes that these tertiary institutions will integrate blended learning in their delivery of course content going forward.