– as school opens to facilitate those writing exams shortly

ON Monday morning, students and pupils residing on the East Coast and East Bank corridors showed up in their numbers as they prepare to sit the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) and Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) commencing next month.

The Guyana Chronicle visited the Victoria Primary School, on the East Coast Demerara, where the Headteacher, Ms. Nanette Grandison said that to her delight, there was a 100% turnout of pupils for the in-class sessions.

She also said that in addition to the children being placed six feet apart from each other, each was instructed to wash their hands, and have their temperature tested before entering the school building. She noted, too, that upon entering the classroom, each child and teacher was presented with an essential care package, each of which contains a hand sanitiser, face masks, toilet paper and disinfectant wipes for them to use during the two-week period they have to attend classes.

She noted that the ministry provided the said number of items, and the school is equipped with a sufficient amount of sanitation supplies to cater to the needs of all its pupils and teachers.

Meanwhile, in the classrooms, the pupils were particularly quiet, which is not a norm on the first day of school.

Ms. Karen Gillis, a Grade Six teacher at the said Victoria Primary, began the day by enforcing the basic rules and guidelines for the in-classroom sessions.
She stressed to the pupils that they should at no time take their face masks off, and must at all times maintain their social distance.

Over at the St. Andrew’s Primary School, also located on the East Coast, the headmistress, who asked that her name be withheld, said that 13 out of the 15 pupils scheduled to attend classes that day were present, and that the parents of one pupil had indicated that because their child has an underlying health condition, she will not be able to make it.
She said that the school has established a sanitisation area at the entrance of the auditorium, where classes are being held, and each pupil and teacher is expected to make use of the facility before entering the classroom.

Meanwhile, on the East Bank Demerara at the Houston Secondary School, Mr. Williams, the head-teacher, was seen standing at the entrance at the school’s auditorium testing the temperature of each student and teacher before they entered their respective classroom. He noted that as was expected, the students turned out in their numbers, clad in their facemasks and ready to start the day’s work. He, however, noted that it was necessary to remind them of the COVID-19 guidelines before classes commenced. And at the Diamond Secondary School, while some 76 students and 13 teachers were present for the first day of school, one teacher disclosed that during the course of the week, the number of students will vary, depending on the subject being taught that particular day.