Dear Editor,
As a Grade Six teacher who has served the children of Guyana for more than twenty years, I am always concerned about the welfare of children.
It is extremely alarming that the Ministry of Education has failed to identify the measures which its officials intend to implement to protect the teachers and students of Regions 1, 2,7, 8 and 9. The measures cannot be the same for all the regions given the demographics of Guyana.
There are numerous reports of teachers and students disobeying the stipulated guidelines in various schools. The question which looms is, what is the Ministry of Education doing to ensure that the stipulated guidelines are observed? I would like the Ministry of Education to publicly state what resources have been provided to the District Education Officers and teachers of Regions 1, 2,7, 8 and 9 to facilitate their safe travel to remote areas in those regions to supervise and in some instances enforce the existing health guidelines.
The children may not fully appreciate or understand the gravity of the health situation which confronts us globally and it is for that reason that there must be a system of proper oversight by the Education officials, who are entrusted with the responsibility of protecting the nation’s children.
The Ministry of Education in a statement on Thursday evening indicated that the schools in Region One have been closed since March 16, 2020. Are the students in Region One not writing the National Grade Six Assessment 2020 on July 1 and 2, 2020 and assuming they are writing the assessment, what is the Ministry of Education doing at this late stage to adequately prepare them for it?
The children of Region One are children of Guyana and all children are supposedly equal. Why were there no classroom interactions for NGSA students in Region One when all other Grade Six students were in their classrooms working with their teachers from June 15, 2020?
In my view, the lack of classroom interactions places the Grade Six students of Region 1 at a severe disadvantage and hence the Ministry of Education must come up with a suitable approach which will benefit the children of Region One.
All of Guyana’s children must be treated in an equitable manner.
I wish to call on the residents of Region One and in particular the parents and teachers of that Region to demand fair treatment of your children.
Yours faithfully,
Africo Selman
Grade Six Teacher
Former Member of Parliament
