Strong turnout by teachers and students

THERE WAS A HIGH TURNOUT OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS on Monday’s
reopening of schools throughout Guyana, according to statistical evidence from the Education
Ministry a press statement said.
It said based on data received from 51 percent of nursery and primary schools across Guyana, 70
percent of nursery pupils showed up along with 95 percent of their teachers.
In Primary Schools, 92 percent of teachers were in attendance along with 65 percent of their
charges.
“It must be noted that some schools have chosen to teach specific grades on different days to
avoid crowded classrooms and to maintain social distancing. Therefore, the attendance data do
not reflect the entire school population, but rather those students who were scheduled to attend
school today,” the ministry statement explained.
The education ministry and the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) have been at loggerheads about
reopening of schools at a time when increasing numbers of Guyanese are contracting and being
hospitalised from the highly contagious and deadly COVID-19.
GTU has called for strike by teachers and plans picketing the ministry’s Brickdam, Georgetown
headquarters Wednesday to express their dismay at the controversial decision to reopen schools
and expose children and teachers to the rampaging virus first detected in Wuhan, China, at the
end of 2019.
The coronavirus has so far it has killed 4.5 million worldwide and more than 650 in Guyana.
The education ministry in a statement late Tuesday condemned the GTU strike call knocking it
as “irresponsible…uncaring and unconscionable”.

Justifying Monday’s reopening, the ministry statement explained Guyanese children “have been
home from school for over 17 months (and) despite the world’s best efforts, there has been a
well-chronicled resultant loss of learning and school-leaving (dropping out).”
“Here in Guyana, we have evidence of significant learning loss and drop-outs at every level, with
more than 600 drop-outs recorded at the primary level alone. We are working assiduously to
arrest this situation and reverse this reality for our children who have already fallen victim to
these phenomena.  We want all of our children engaged and in school and are working towards
achieving this safely,” the statement said
It reiterated that vaccination for teachers and students is not mandatory and that “clear
guidelines” exist for those who do not want to take the covid jab.
“All of this (is) to keep teachers, their families, and our children safe,” the ministry release said.
Therefore, the GTU strike call must be ignored by teachers across the country because “there is
no grievance/basis for strike action.”
“All teachers, parents, and administrators (must not) fall prey to the political machinations of
Coretta McDonald and the small cabal of self-serving individuals who have hijacked the Guyana
Teachers Union,” the statement advised.
“The Ministry reminds all, that teachers who do not work, do not get paid,” it warned.
“The Ministry calls upon the teachers of this country to reject the unconscionable call of
the GTU, Coretta McDonald, and her political cohorts in favor of serving the children of
our nation and advancing their education and socialisation as we exit this pandemic and
reclaim our lives,” the statement said.