The Education Ministry is proposing that all students of President’s College take up residents at the East Coast Demerara as a means of limiting outside contact to curtail the spread of Covid-19.
Some eight students have already tested positive for the virus and many more are at risk. Education Minister Priya Manickchand met with parents and teachers at the school o Tuesday during which she floated the proposal.
A release from the ministry said Manickchand was looking for agreement with the parents and teachers on a raft of measures.
“The Ministry of Education through Minister Manickchand is proposing that during this time that non-resident students become resident students and be tested for the Coronavirus. This is to ensure that there isn’t any spread of the virus among the students because of students going in and out of the college on a daily basis. This arrangement is not a permanent one but only to address the current situation (pandemic) that is facing the country and the world,” the release stated.
According to the release non-resident students who do not want to become temporary resident students can be educated at this time at a secondary school closest to their homes.
Minister Manickchand on Monday confirmed that the eight students of the President’s College have tested positive for Covid-19.
At a news conference the minister disclosed that out of the 139 students being housed at the college’s dorm eight tested positive. She said necessary measures are being put in place to ensure the students are isolated under the Ministry’s care.
Meanwhile, earlier on Tuesday General Secretary of the Guyana Teachers Union Coretra McDonald said that the reopening of schools and the timing for the reopening of schools, it’s not right.
McDonald has been part of closed-door meetings held between the Ministry of Education and the GTU to discuss the reopening of schools to exam students which took place on November 9, 2020.
She said that the GTU lobbied for a solid plan to be put in place to guarantee the safety of teachers and students but would appear to the Union that the Ministry has opted for speed over safety.
“I’m not sure what point the Ministry of Education or Government wants to prove but this whole aspect of rushing to reopen schools is reckless and ill-thought-out,” she said. “GTU is not opposing the reopening of schools, GTU is saying we want to ensure that our children are safe, our teachers are safe and, by extension, the communities in which the schools are located and this nation, that they are all safe.
