Dear Editor,
THE year 2020 has brought with it several challenges for Guyana and the world at large. The greatest challenge thus far has to be the spread of the COVID-19 virus, which has infected millions globally, and caused the death of thousands.

With this pandemic, several sectors have been affected, including education. Universities, colleges and schools worldwide were forced to close until further notice, so as to reduce large gatherings of humans to stem the spread of the virus.

With education delivery affected, governments and teachers were forced to come up with creative ways to still achieve some level of teaching and instruction to keep students engaged while at home.

In Guyana, despite leaps in improving connectivity and access to information countrywide, we faced a challenge to reach our pupils in the hinterland regions. We know that the hinterland communities are usually at a disadvantage in this regard. However, with the several community Internet hubs established over the last few years, Online assistance would have been possible in some way, as learning material is available on the Ministry’s website for all grades.

Despite this, I could imagine the pressure the Ministry was under to ensure all of its hinterland students could be reached. I was happy to learn that the Ministry had also moved to distribute workbooks and past papers, and that lessons were aired on the radio stations for the children in these communities to continue learning at home.
It shows that the MoE was cognisant of the challenges faced in these communities, whereby access to the Internet is an issue, whether through a hub or mobile data. In some communities, mobile service is non-existent.

The Ministry of Education should be commended for ensuring that they did not leave out the children in the hinterland communities in this regard. I do hope that these materials were taken advantage of, and used efficiently.

As I alluded earlier, these times are different and more challenging. In fact, it is new territory. We have never had such an experience before. I believe this year will serve as a lesson learnt on how important it is to ensure we can always reach our children living in far-flung communities.

I implore parents, particularly those in the hinterland communities, to understand the difficult situation that we are in, and the circumstances that led to the decisions that were made. I wish all students the best of luck with their examinations.

Respectfully,
Kevin Jones