Over 2,000 children have not returned to school

Over 2,000 children have not returned to school since its reopening on November 9, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, has revealed.

Manickchand, while delivering remarks on Saturday last at the ‘Celebration Day’ event hosted by the First Assembly of God Wortmanville Church, said there are many reasons for the children not returning to the classroom, including not having school uniforms and school supplies; not having transportation and money; fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that many have entered the workforce.

According to a press release from the ministry, Manickchand said that beginning this week, she will be engaging churches, temples and masjids and other religious bodies and organiasations to help the state in determining where the students are and how they can be supported with completing their secondary education or accessing training in technical vocational education.

The Minister said the only other institutions in almost every community outside of schools are religious bodies, Toshaos and village councils and for this reason, the ministry will be engaging those bodies for assistance to make sure our children are not lost to education.

Schools in Guyana reopened on November 9 for students writing CSEC and CAPE next year.

While at the ‘Celebration Day’ activity, Minister Manickchand engaged members of the church and its clergy including Pastors Paul Benjamin, Dr. Wilbert Lee, Deacon Orson Smith, Chief Education Officer Rev. Dr. Marcel Hutson, Elder Angela Massiah and Bishop Dr. Murtland Raphael Massiah.

The event was held to honour the Church’s members who sat the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and other recent examinations at the University of Guyana and other tertiary institutions.