AS the number of confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases continue to climb, the Ministry of Education (MoE) is currently working on a new plan as it pertains to whether or not schools would reopen on Monday.

MoE Public Relations Officer, Brushell Blackman, said while he could not confirm whether or not school would be reopened, the Ministry is currently assessing the situation. “A new plan is being formalised, even as we speak that plan is being formalised, and when that is done that will be made public. Until then, I have nothing else to say,” was all Blackman would offer.

According to an official, the decision on the way forward with the schools is expected to be determined by the National COVID-19 Task Force, after consultations with the Ministry. Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, is a member of the Task Force, which is being chaired by Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo.

After Guyana recorded its first case of the coronavirus on March 11, the MoE took the decision to close schools effective March 16 to help curtail the spread of the virus. This also saw the postponement of upcoming national exams such as the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), while the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) had announced the postponement of the secondary school examinations offered by that body across the Caribbean.

Similar closures and other measures were effected all across the Caribbean, and other parts of the world. In their attempt to mitigate the gap in learning, the MoE has been providing interactive learning via television, on the Learning Channel; on the radio; and on their website.

In Guyana, the school closure was effective until April 3 which marked the end of the school term, leading straight into the two-week Easter vacation. As such, students and teachers were expected to return to school for scheduled reopening on April 20.
However, over the past five weeks, the COVID-19 situation in Guyana, and the rest of the world, has only escalated, resulting in even more stringent measures being implemented requiring persons to remain at home as much as is practicable. According to theWorld Health Organization (WHO) statistics, as of last Wednesday, the pandemic had already infected over 1.9 million persons globally and being responsible for over 123,000 deaths.
As numbers continue to exponentially climb, and a possible vaccine for the virus is some 12 – 18 months away, some countries are projecting that their schools will remain close at least for the rest of the year.

That has been the case in the United States. Closer to home, Guyana’s CARICOM neighbor, Trinidad and Tobago, does not see the possibility of their schools opening their doors before September. In Jamaica, the schools were closed until April 22, and the authority there also expected to shortly pronounce on the way forward for their schools.