Education Minister, Priya Manickchand has begun meeting with Civil Society Organisations to establish partnerships that would allow for the expansion of the Ministry’s ‘Operation Recovery’.
Last evening, Minister Manickchand who was accompanied by the Chief Education Officer, Dr Marcel Hutson, met with members of the Rotary Club of Demerara at the Pegasus Hotel, where she made a presentation on the programme. Members of other Rotary clubs also joined the meeting virtually.
Operation Recovery was launched initially within the 11 Education Districts to find those primary school students who have been continuously absent from school since school re-started and those who have missed the recent National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) mock examination. The programme will now focus on students at all levels who continue to be absent from the classroom.
At yesterday’s meeting, Minister Manickchand told those in attendance that she was happy that the organisation is willing to examine coming on board with the Ministry. She said that it is a programme that has wide-reaching implications.
Minister Manickchand explained that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the Education sector in two fundamental ways; loss of instructional time and learning loss due to schools being closed for over 18 months. She said that recognising the need to mitigate the long term effects of school closure, the Ministry implemented a system of phased reopening.
However, she said that an analysis of learners’ attendance data revealed that some learners did not attend school as required. She said that Operation Recovery aims to get pupils back into school where they belong. She said that the objectives of the programme are to locate and retain learners as well as to engage and support them.
Minister Manickchand added that the Ministry will also be reaching out to other Civil Society Organisations and Religious bodies to come on board to ensure our children receive the education they rightly deserve.
