THE Ministry of Education (MoE) has taken a decision to reopen schools after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been quite some time since face-to-face teaching was put on hold and online education was introduced by the Education Ministry, and even though there is no evidence to suggest that the quality of education has declined in any significant way, there can be no denying that the absence of classroom teaching has had some negative impact in terms of school-participation levels, both with respect to students and parents.

There is no denying the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic can have disruptive impacts on education delivery, not only in Guyana but worldwide. Losing access to school as a protective space exposes children to abuse and emotional trauma, especially in an environment of unsafe or abusive homes. The economic shock of the pandemic could likely push children into poverty, thereby increasing risks of malnutrition, stress and other forms of child exploitation.

Thankfully, we have a President and a government that have put in place several interventions to cushion the impact of the pandemic, especially on working families. The COVID-19 cash-grant paid out to households all across the country and the several other initiatives such as the cash grant to parents of schoolchildren in public and private schools have proven highly beneficial to both parents and students.

The Ministry of Education has done a commendable job in terms of ensuring that the delivery of quality education is not adversely affected by the absence of classroom teaching. This is reflected in student-attainment rates both at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) and at the National Grade Six Examinations. But it also brought out the creativity and ingenuity of the education-delivery system to ensure that our students were not placed at a disadvantage in terms of learning outcomes through a combination of online interactive learning and limited face-to-face teaching.

The re-opening of schools in an environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in light of the more transmissible Omicron variant which apparently has now reached the shores of Guyana, is not without its risks. But a balance has to be struck between the adverse impact of loss of classroom teaching and the likely consequences of exposing children to a school environment.

There are some, who out of political opportunism, would wish to project the decision to reopen schools as ‘reckless,’ without taking into account the other variables that mitigate against the all-round development of the child as a consequence of a long and protracted period of school closures.

This delicate balance has not escaped the attention of President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, who in a recent press conference made the point that schools cannot be kept closed indefinitely. Even as he acknowledged the prevailing health situation, President Ali emphasised that the protection of our children from the COVID-19 pandemic must be balanced with the crucial need to have children back to the classroom.

The decision to re-open schools was made after careful assessment of the existing situation and not, as the political opposition is trying to say, in a reckless and irresponsible manner. In fact, a recent World Bank report drew attention to low student engagement, which if allowed to continue, could result in learning loss and school-dropout rates. These could have implications for human capital accumulation in the longer run. A similar observation was made by UNICEF representative Nicholas Pron, who posited that children could be affected by significant learning loss, if they do not return to schools due to challenges in Internet connectivity and access to online classes.

And as pointed out by President Ali, all possible measures are being put in place to ensure that our children learn in a secure and safe environment. The President has in fact championed the cause of vaccination for all, including adolescents. Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, has also given full assurance that the re-opening of schools will be accompanied by a concerted effort to maintain the necessary COVID-19 guidelines to protect our children.

Guyana is not unique in the re-opening of schools. Several other countries in the Region and globally have already commenced the phased reopening of schools. According to UNICEF, prolonged school closures continue to jeopardise the futures of children worldwide and recommended the re-opening of schools as a matter of priority. The planning, implementation and monitoring of school reopening is not a simple task, but one that requires inter-agency collaboration, especially between health and education authorities. Such an approach is already being done and continuing monitoring of the situation by the relevant authorities remains a high priority.