GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) has warned the government that it will not give it a clean slate ahead of the re-opening of schools in September in light of the ongoing concerns regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
GTU general secretary, Coretta Mc Donald.GTU general secretary, Coretta Mc Donald, said that the Ministry of Education will have to consult with the union which intends to press demands for a number of arrangements and supplies to be put in place.
“The GTU’s position is that whenever the Ministry of Education decides that they are going to reopen schools, they better understand that all the systems will have to be in place,” Mc Donald told News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM.
She told radio listeners there is need to provide an adequate Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) environment for the teachers in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, listing among the issues whether schools would be fully or partly re-opened, a blended approach, continued closure of nursery schools or in-person classes for selected grades of primary and secondary schools.
Mc Donald said that the union has already decided to insist on social distancing in classrooms, sufficient face masks and hand sanitizers for teachers and students as well as sufficient cleaners to sanitize classrooms every 35 minutes, and special buses for students.
“Unless we have the safety practices in place, we will continue to say to our members, ‘stay away, don’t go into schools and put yourself in danger’ and we have a right to say that,” said Mc Donald.
The GTU general secretary said since August last year, nine teachers have died from COVID-19 and many others have been infected by the virus.
The Ministry of Education has already said that the re-opening of schools would also be dependent on the success rate of the vaccination program.
Guyana has so far recorded 504 deaths and 21, 223 positive cases of the virus since March last year.
