– construction to be completed by August 2021

STUDENTS of the still incomplete Good Hope Secondary school, East Coast Demerara, will begin online classes through this school, instead of temporarily attending school elsewhere, Minister Priya Manickchand assured scores of parents on Monday.

The Minister met with many of the parents of the 195 students who were scheduled to commence their secondary education at the Good Hope school this school term. These students, who would be entering into the First form (or Grade Seven), were awarded a place there, after receiving their results of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA).

“We can get teachers to engage this cohort of children from as early as two weeks from now until we get the teaching service to put teachers in the school and so on,” the Minister told the gathering of parents.

The construction of the school fell under a multi-million-dollar project funded by the World Bank. The Guyana Secondary School Education Improvement Project (GSEIP) aimed to build two new secondary schools: the Westminster Secondary School in La Parfaite Harmonie and the Good Hope Secondary School. This particular school was supposed to be completed in 15 months.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Adele Clarke had announced in 2018 that a US$4,082,506.80 contract for the construction of the Good Hope Secondary School was awarded to BK International Inc. and, the Minister previously stressed that the delay in completion was “unacceptable” as it has affected hundreds of students.

At Monday’s meeting, it was made known that the school is expected to be completed by August 2021 and will accommodate some 800 students.

With the commencement of this new school term in September, the new cohort of students would not have been able to access the school. The Minister told parents she understands their frustration that their children worked hard and were awarded places at this Grade ‘A’ institution but cannot attend.
Many of these children were scheduled to begin their secondary school journey at another school, such as the Annandale Secondary, until this school was complete.

The COVID-19 pandemic, however, forced all schools in Guyana to operate virtually, and, as such, the solution of engaging the students under the administration of the Good Hope Secondary school was made possible. In fact, this suggestion was first floated by one parent, Beena Ganesh before the Minister consulted with her team and assured that it would be possible.

And so, the Ministry’s team present at the incomplete secondary school for the meeting took down the contact information for the parents of the children who would be part of this school. The parents were also encouraged to follow the Ministry’s Facebook page for updates. The Regional Office will be asked to post the notices for the parents on its Facebook page as well.

Another parent, a father of a young girl, said that this idea to have the children attend this school virtually was “the best idea”.

There were also a few parents who indicated that they wanted their children to begin classes with the alternative school, the Annandale Secondary, in the coming week because weeks of schooling have already been lost. The Minister noted that those parents would also be accommodated by the Ministry.

Technology woes

The Minister also used the opportunity to address other concerns raised by parents; a prevalent concern was the inability of the children to utilise the virtual platform for learning due to internet connectivity issues or a lack of electronic devices.

One mother, who is also an educator, highlighted that half of the class was unable to access the Zoom classes because they do not have reliable internet access. The students of these households, she said, would only be able to get limited data plans, only sufficient for WhatsApp communication.

Another parent said that she has an older child, at another school who was recommended to sit Electronic Document Preparation and Management (EDPM) at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination. This student is unable to do so, however, since the syllabus requires the use of a computer system and she does not have one of her own.

Minister Manickchand noted that these are concerns she has been receiving all across the country but currently, the Ministry has no immediate plan to assist with data and connectivity. She only said that the Education Ministry was looking into devices for at least the Fifth Form students in regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine.

“While you all have some access here to WhatsApp but maybe not Zoom, they have none and we have to make sure that they aren’t left behind,” she lamented.

Though unable to provide short-term solutions to the parents for those issues and concerns, Manickchand related that the Ministry would be adopting a long term, strategic planning approach to cater for future disruptions, such as the current pandemic.

“Never again will the Ministry be caught (unprepared) like that, she stressed, “We will have locked away, filed online, information (so that) if we have ever have to lock up again, we can engage our children again within a week with printed material and so on.”