With almost 1,000 CXC-level students unaccounted for since the start of the new school year, the Ministry of Education has moved to partner with religious organisations across the country to reach them and offer support.
To this end, the ministry held a virtual meeting with over 200 leaders and representatives of the religious bodies in Guyana on Friday to explore possible collaborations on the way forward to reach and support the students who have not returned to school.
In a press statement issued yesterday, the Education Ministry reported Deputy Chief Education Officer (Amerindian and Hinterland Education Development) Marti De Souza as saying that at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, 10, 216 students were expected to move from Grade 10 to Grade 11 and should be preparing to sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination next year.
He said based on attendance records of classes, whether physically or virtually 1,424 students are not being engaged or have not returned to school.
De Souza further said that while gathering this information many reasons were recorded for why some students have not returned. They include 21 students becoming pregnant, 31 students gaining employment, 89 students not returning due to fear of the pandemic, 44 students because of financial difficulties and 48 students that have relocated.
However, the ministry noted that it was unable to reach 988 students.
Education Minister Priya Manickchand had previously said that like schools, religious organisations are present in almost every community and add another layer of organised interest, monitoring, supervision and reporting that could benefit students.
During the engagement, the statement said, she asked of the religious leaders to take account of all the children in their congregations and identify the students who are in school, not in school or are not being engaged while at home. She also asked them to do the same for the community in which they exist physically.
Manickchand made a point of saying that this initiative is not a truancy campaign but is intended to support students to ensure they either return to school or can be engaged while at home.
During the engagement, a line of communication was established whereby a phone number was shared so that senior Officers at Central Ministry can be contacted and made aware of any issue preventing a child or children from returning to school or be engaged at home so that immediate action can be taken.
According to the statement, Shaik Moeen ul-Hack, of the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG), commended the ministry for the initiative. He said that after the ministry made contact with the organization, the CIOG did a survey through the masjids across the country regarding why some students did not return to school when it was reopened and found much of what the ministry’s findings show.
He added that the CIOG will assist the Ministry in sensitising the community about children returning to schools and all relevant matters.
Rev Dr Noel Holder, of the Victoria and Ann’s Grove Congregational Churches, also commended the ministry for engaging the religious bodies. He noted that based on his observation, behavioural change is one of the major challenges during this pandemic. He said that while parents are afraid to send their children to school, in some cases the same children are playing with friends in the community without masks. According to him, getting persons to adapt to the new norm is of great importance moving forward.
Additionally, Chandrowtie Sarran of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha expressed similar sentiments about the initiative and offered to provide the assistance necessary.
The ministry said the participants agreed to have additional meetings to continue to craft an effective approach to the situation, which will see religious bodies working alongside government to reach and support the nation’s children.
The ministry will host a similar meeting with the toshaos of the country, the statement added.
