Hinterland students most affected by school closure – Education Minister

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, MP, has said students in the hinterland regions have been most affected by the closure of schools during the pandemic, as they were unable to access the interventions put in place for education delivery.

She made the statement on Wednesday, during the launch of Education Month 2021 at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

“The children who are most impacted by school closure are the children from the Amerindian villages and the hinterland communities because the fancy interventions simply cannot reach them because of various infrastructure deficits in the country,” the education minister said.

Minister Manickchand said the ministry will be addressing the issues in its 2021-2025 sectoral strategic plan, adding that it will require “humane leadership and an innate desire to see better for the people of this country.

“We can’t deliver education as we need to with school doors closed…that the seventeen months we’ve been out of school equates to about one year of quality learning for all the children who stayed out of school,” she stated. Education month was launched under the theme “Education for all: innovative teaching and learning during a global pandemic.”