Secondary school timings should be standardised

May 13, 2023 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News – With equity and equality being the latest watchwords of the Ministry of Guyana what else should we expect but improvements in the education sector.
While the big projects and important decrees are given ample attention, little changes can also have a positive impact.
For instance, if one wants to talk about fairness and equality in the public school system then under normal circumstances students at a particular level (nursery, primary or secondary) should be spending the same amount of time per day inclusive of instructional periods and breaks at school but often this is not the case and the decision on timings at the school level varies.

For example, secondary schools in Georgetown generally start at 9 am and dismiss at 3 pm, students therefore spend 6 hours at school while nearby on the East Coast of Demerara, you will find secondary schools starting at 8:15, 8:30 or 8:45 am but all dismissing at 2:45 pm. Why the inconsistency?
While at the nursery and primary school levels start times may differ because students enrolled are generally from the neighbourhood where the school is located or surrounding areas at the secondary level students are placed based on the scores they obtained at the NGSA, therefore many travel far distances to attend a particular secondary school.

By having uniformity with timings at the secondary level at least, across an education district/area, issues such as loitering would reduce and punctuality improved apart from the fact that all students would be spending the same amount of time in school. A 9 am – 3 pm school day (exactly on the hour) would be better and reduce inconsistencies in timings (start and dismissal) and instructional time given to the students.

Also, for the sake of accuracy and accountability regarding lateness for both learners and teachers, there should be uniformity on how this is recorded and not left to the whim of school administrators.
For instance, lateness at one school may be recorded as 15 minutes before the start of the school day while at others, it is 10 or 5 minutes before or 1 minute after the start time.
Editor, while the matter of school timings may seem insignificant, any little issue that is highlighted and has a positive effect if changes are made adds to the overall improvement of the education sector.
Name withheld

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