The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge in every sphere of life and the over 1,900 students and staff members of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) were not spared. But the institution has been working assiduously to ensure that its students continue to learn virtually even though it has been a challenge, according to Principal Renita Crandon-Duncan.
While GTI and other Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions have been given the greenlight to reopen, Crandon-Duncan said classes are largely continuing online as only a small percentage of the institution’s population are attending physical classes to ensure that the COVID guidelines are followed. Interviews for new students are also being done online and their classes will begin in January.
In a recent interview with Stabroek Weekend, the principal pointed out that 80% of what the institution does is practical and, therefore, she and her staff had to seriously deal with that issue and come up with strategies to quickly adjust so that students could benefit.
And while attempting to address the learning needs of the 1,964 students, Crandon-Duncan said there was an equally important need to address the psychosocial needs of not only the students but also staff members. She said the institute does have a welfare officer and shortly after the pandemic hit these shores she coordinated some virtual psychosocial programmes for staff and students. The turnout was not what she wanted, and this saw them starting to advertise the programmes on the GTI website.
“We did a lot. We had Ministry of Social Protection, we had University of Guyana, the Sociology Department…we had persons who would have done social work and we had maybe three, four sessions a week…,” she said.
She candidly shared that even she was affected as at one point she had issues sleeping and was constantly worried about what the next move would be, and she found the sessions very helpful.
“To be honest it is not easy because at that point trying to manage the school virtually and then you had people who were afraid. People were not coming in and then you had persons who didn’t have access to teach the students and so you had students who didn’t know what was the next move. So it was really fatiguing…,” she said.
But Crandon-Duncan and her staff eventually got on top of what needed to be done and while it is not perfect, the institute continues to function as some persons have been braving it all and trying to ensure students complete their programmes.
She explained that initially they concentrated on the students who were scheduled to write the national exams in May and started to conduct classes online as the students had completed 80% of their studies and wrote the mock-exams. But the exams were rescheduled for October and then again rescheduled for January.
In an effort to cater to the needs of other students, the principal said, in July/August they turned to those who had to do the practical assessments and they were allowed to go into the institution in small batches (not more than three at a time) and complete that aspect of their courses. She said they put in sanitation stations to ensure the COVID guidelines were followed. All persons also wore their masks and they ensured that the students were six feet apart.
She explained that for the traditional programmes such as the technician certificate courses, examinations were facilitated online. Those students who could not get online to do the examinations were asked to inform the institute by way of letter and they were facilitated in September to write a physical exam; once successful, they were promoted to year two.
“We found that there were some students who didn’t have the internet connectivity so what we have encouraged is for them to come and utilize our labs [for the online classes], just a few, not much…,” the principal said.
For the other courses which are more practical, Crandon-Duncan said she asked her lecturers to ensure that those students completed their work from September to the end of this month.
And for the new students, who are slated to start in January, she said they have been conducting virtual interviews and they are aiming to facilitate most of the courses online and just have scheduled practical sessions. She hopes the new students have internet connectivity with devices and she recommends a tablet or laptop as cellular phones are not compatible.
She said it was surprising that some people do not even have an email address and others are now saying they do not know how to access Zoom. She wants them to understand that it is the new norm, and they have to ensure they kept abreast.
Asked about dropout rate since COVID, Crandon-Duncan said the institute did conduct some analysis and there were students who did not have access to internet and therefore were not joining the classes online, so they have been attempting to contact them. She acknowledged that some who have to write the national exam have become despondent since the exam has been postponed twice.
“So we have had the devil’s job to try to keep them interested… We had a meeting where we tried to meet all of them online just to try to reassure them that the exam is going to happen in January. We have been calling to find out if there is anything that we can do… If it is a financial issue, to see if it is something we can facilitate…,” she said.
Some students have gone on to the University of Guyana and that could be the reason they have lost interest in completing the programme they started at GTI. There are others who may have lost their jobs and are unable now to pay for the exam. The principal said, however, they have been trying to help as much as possible as they encourage them not to quit after two years but to complete the programme.
There are also students from far-flung regions and some of them do not have internet connectivity and are unable to travel. She said in such cases it has been difficult.
“There hasn’t been a high dropout rate, but we have lost some of our students,” she confirmed.
Leading technical institute
Speaking about the importance of the institute to the country, Crandon-Duncan noted that it is the leading technical institute in Guyana and the only one that offers certain programmes, such as mechanical, electrical and civil engineering and land surveying. GTI has also ensured that most of its students are fully trained and helps them get employed. Many of them, she said, are doing excellent in the world of work.
“So we continue to train and ensure we impart skill and knowledge because we understand that skill is wealth and without skill Guyana isn’t going any place… GTI is there as the vehicle to ensure that Guyana takes her rightful place in the global village,” she said.
The institute, she said, caters for those who want a diploma or technical certificate and targets those who have already have certain passes at CSEC, but it also offers competency-based programmes, which are mostly skilled based. For this, students must have a sound secondary school education. The lecturer is there as a facilitator and the students are expected to do most of the work and conduct their research and be more responsible for their learning.
COVID-19 has resulted in a reduced number of new applications; the principal said they were not as overwhelming as before.
However, she said, what they noticed was that young people were making GTI their last option and so they do not apply when applications are being accepted. Instead, they wait until they get their grades and then realize “that they didn’t do so well and then they believe that GTI becomes the alternative pathway for them to take,” she said.
There is also the issue of many students wanting to do the engineering programme without having done certain subjects in secondary school. She pointed out that engineering is heavily Math and Physics-based. Students would approach the institute with business subjects and want to do engineering with no technical background. They have to disappoint such students because they would suffer, according to the principal.
“The whole problem is with students not planning their career, not sure what they want and waiting on the last minute to rush to get something done. I find it appalling that it is November and people are now asking to apply for our programmes. Like when do you expect the school to start?” she asked rhetorically.
The principal said she is irked at the seeming downplaying of the institution as if it does not have standards and quality training does not take place there.
