Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand says that schools across the country will remain closed for face-to-face interaction during May, except for students in select grades that have already returned to the classrooms.
“We have been advised, given the numbers of both COVID-19 infections as well as the rate of the vaccination process, that we will stay closed except for the classrooms that have already been opened and have already returned to school. So, for the month of May, schools in Guyana will stay closed,” she said.
The Minister noted that the decision was made following a Cabinet meeting this morning, where the Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony gave a presentation on the status of the virus in Guyana.
The Education Minister relayed that while the government is pleased with the vaccination programme, it is concerned about the ‘sloth’ of some communities and interest groups in taking the vaccine. She noted that while the government continues to maintain that the vaccination process is voluntary, “all the signs in the world have said to us that it is safer to take the vaccine”.
Manickchand said that the vaccination is crucial to the reopening of schools and if parents, teachers, and guardians are serious about children returning to the classrooms, they should take the vaccine.
“While it remains your choice; you’re not going to be forced to take the vaccine, I encourage persons, particularly teachers, parents and grandparents to go out and take the vaccine…I expect to see teachers considering this, strongly and carefully and do what teachers are very capable of doing: distilling fact from noise and fiction.”
