EDUCATION Minister, Priya Manickchand, has met with Regional Executive Officers (REOs), Regional Education Officers (REDOs) and District Education Officers (DEOs) to discuss the various regions’ level of preparedness for the eventual re-opening of schools.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) continues ongoing works at schools across the country to bring them up to scratch with safety regulations. Sinks are being installed as well as the setting up of COVID-19 guidelines signs at the entrances and within the schools.

Toilets are also being built while weeding and cleaning of school compounds are ongoing.
“It was the consensus of the officials that ongoing work had to be accelerated and efficiently managed to ensure the safety of students, teachers and other stakeholders and this will also be addressed. Discussions were also held on ensuring adequate staffing and textbooks for schools in light of the pandemic which will ensure certain restrictions are not infringed,” a statement from the Ministry of Education (MoE) said.

Also participating in the meeting on Saturday was Chief Education Officer, Dr. Marcel Hutson; MoE Permanent Secretary, Alfred King; assistant chief education officers for nursery, primary and secondary, and the Chief Planning Officer, Nicola Johnson.
According to the statement, the minister indicated the need to get an understanding as to whether the regions level of preparedness on the ground correlates with the level of preparedness the MoE has on record.

“With schools closed since March this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Manickchand told the officials that it was important that every school be fully prepared to receive both students and teachers in the safest of environments when schools are approved for re-opening by the Ministry of Health,” the statement said.
It added: “With grades 10 and 11 students needing critical time in the classroom to complete School-Based Assessments (SBA) in the lead-up to CXC and CAPE 2021; consideration is being given for this group of students to return to the classrooms first.”

Earlier this month, the Guyana Chronicle had reported that several teachers who oversee students preparing to write the 2021 Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) examinations, have officially written to the Ministry of Education (MoE) seeking permission to return to schools, and the ministry is actively considering the requests.
“It is against this background that Minister Manickchand stressed the importance of certain amenities such as running water, adequate toilets and other related features that each school should have. She acknowledged that such an undertaking is a costly exercise. However, it was noted the national budget caters for this blended participatory approach in addressing the current situation,” the statement noted.

Saturday’s meeting also looked at how students at schools with dormitories will be adequately facilitated while still observing the COVID-19 social distancing guideline.