As the Education Ministry plans to reopen schools on the 6th of September for face-to-face learning, it has announced a vaccination policy that will be enforced for the nation’s teachers.

In a statement last evening, the Ministry of Education announced that teachers who remain unvaccinated will have to produce a weekly COVID-19 negative test result or be marked absent from school.

“Teachers who do not report for duty will be marked absent. These measures also apply to the ancillary staff of each school (cleaners, administrative and other support staff). These measures will be captured in the next Gazetted Order for the new month. The Ministry of Education will provide to all teachers face masks, face shields, sanitizing agents (environ) and spray bottles to assist in ensuring they are safe upon their return to the classroom”, the Education Ministry said.

The new requirement is expected to be incorporated in the next gazetted health regulations by the Ministry of Health and will also cover cleaners and administrative staff at the schools.

According to the Education Ministry, the move is to reduce the spread of the virus and rid the country of the harmful effects of the virus and the virus altogether.

Noting that schools in Guyana have been closed for over a year, the Ministry said the benefits provided by the vaccines are to prevent persons from becoming severely ill by the virus, hospitalised, or even dying.

The Ministry said due to the closure of schools, studies have revealed that students suffered tremendous learning loss, with some students dropping out of schools completely.

The Ministry warned that the situation is expected to worsen if school doors remain closed longer.

The Ministry of Education is also encouraging parents to ensure their children above the age of 12 get vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine which arrives in the country later today.

“If any of our teachers have questions on these vaccines or any related question, the Ministry of Education has solicited the assistance of three doctors to provide responses and they can be reached on telephone numbers: 650 – 2289 (Dr. Farah December), 650 – 2308 (Dr. Oneka Scott) and 650 – 2312 (Dr. Ertenisa Hamilton). This is to provide teachers with an opportunity to speak with medical professionals and have their concerns addressed”, the statement advised.

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