TEACHERS and auxiliary staff of various schools on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara on Monday commenced preparations for the re-opening of schools on Monday June,15, 2020 for students and pupils sitting examinations in the following month.

The Guyana Chronicle visited the Victoria Primary School on the East Coast of Demerara, where the teachers and auxiliary staff alike turned out in their numbers to begin preparations to house pupils sitting the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

Headteacher of the school, Miss Nanette Grandison stated to her delight that, “The teachers are out, [in] full attendance today and we would have started preparations, as expected by the Ministry of Education.”

Additionally, Grandison, held a meeting with the teachers and auxiliary staff of the school to outline a shift system.

“Basically, we discussed the expectations for the classes and for this week our preparations, so each teacher is leaving here knowing what they are expected to do or what they have to do: who will be monitoring; break time; who will be ensuring that the children maintain social distancing; who will be looking at sanitisation, so we are ready,” the headteacher said.

Nevertheless, Grandison noted that the upcoming examinations are crucial since they will determine where a pupil will further his/her education at the secondary level. As such, to address the major concern of pupils not maintaining the social distancing rule during and after class sessions, teachers have been assigned to overlook various aspects of a day’s activities.

Grandison will also be meeting with the parents of pupils in the following days to discuss further concerns.

Meanwhile, a Grade Six teacher who requested anonymity, stated that she is optimistic that all will go well and is hoping that all parents will come out to the meeting with the headmistress in the coming days and will send their children to school for the in-class sessions.

She added that she is hoping that students are reminded of their work and attend the practice sessions, in order to have excellent results.

However, the teacher noted that some children might not have their masks and may want to touch and play with their peers, which is not allowed.

Meanwhile, on the East Bank of Demerara at the Houston Secondary School, the headteacher, Mr. Williams (only name given) stated that he and the teachers along with the cleaners of the school are anticipating that the ministry will send the necessary cleaning agents and (personal protective equipment) PPE so that teachers will be able to work effectively on Monday.

Mr. Williams further noted that he does not have too many concerns, since the Houston Secondary School does not house many students and only have 23 students sitting the upcoming Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC).

“With respect to that number and given that we have a large auditorium, we can provide them with adequate spacing so that social distancing can be observed, so we don’t have much of difficulty with that aspect,” he said.

Additionally, he noted that going forward with the examinations with the necessary guidelines in place is one of the best decisions made, since he believes that if Guyana is to wait to re-open schools in January 2021, the country will see a setback which will place students at a disadvantage; as such, going forward with the in-classroom sessions and re-opening must be looked at holistically.

Upon visiting several other schools along the East Coast and East Bank corridors, the Guyana Chronicle observed various sanitation exercises and projects being implemented in schools.