Head Mistress stands against GTU’s “ISOLATION DAY”

─ Grade Seven pupils begin face-to-face learning

Despite the Guyana Teachers Union’s (GTU) call for Monday to be “ISOLATION DAY,” teachers and students turned out in their numbers for face-to-face learning.

DPI visited several secondary schools in central Georgetown on Monday, to observe the settling in of Grade Seven students on their first day of the new school term.

Head Mistress of the South Ruimveldt Secondary School, Donna Lewis-Aisles, opposed the call by the teachers’ union, noting that, “school has just reopened and so for me I don’t agree with it because the children were home a very long time and so I am really happy to have them back at school face-to-face.”

The GTU had written to its members asking them to participate in its ‘Isolation Day’ from school on Monday, January 10, 2021. It said the day would be set aside for no formal face-to-face or virtual teaching.

But despite the call, most of the schools in the city were filled with both teachers and students.

The attendance recorded by Ms. Aisles shows that out of 29 teachers, 21 were present while 164 students from Grades Eight through Eleven were present.

Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases, the school implemented a rotation system to accommodate 105 Grade Seven students, who were recently enrolled in the school. They will attend classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week.  

Additionally, the Ministry of Education has ensured that schools have been provided with adequate sanitisers, face masks and other supplies to ease the growing concerns of parents and citizens.

From the items provided by the ministry, schools have established sanitary stations in classrooms for students, along with outdoor stations and sinks.

The ministry has also been dispatching education officers to schools across the country in a continuous effort to assess the safe delivery of education and offer support and guidance.

Principal Education Officer (PEO), Emanuel Bridgewater said the dispatching of officers for routine monitoring is extremely important for the delivery of safe and equitable education.