UG should be reopened to face-to-face classes - Manickchand

UG should be reopened to face-to-face classes – Manickchand

Oct 30, 2023 News

University of Guyana

Kaieteur News – Guyana’s Education Minister Priya Manickchand on Wednesday evening suggested that the University of Guyana (UG) should be re-opened for face-to-face classes.

Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand

It has been almost three years since UG closed its doors to face-to-face classes, a decision which was made because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, a majority of its classes were held virtually and have remained that way ever since.

While noting that the rest of the world has opened-up their education institutions for face-to-face learning, Freddie Kissoon, one of the hosts of the show, asked Manickchand, why UG hadn’t done the same. At the time, the minister made a guest appearance on the Gildarie-Freddie show.

Manickchand in her response related that people have grown to like online learning because it seems to be more convenient and easier.

Nevertheless, she said she agrees that the tertiary institution should be opened for face-to- face classes because, “campus life is indeed unique” and it can create a better environment for learning.

“So I think they need to open-up back,” the Education Minister told Kissoon while adding that the university can still offer some courses online for persons who choose that method of learning.

“So there is nothing wrong with having some courses online but I think they need to open back,” Manickchand iterated.

Another reason given why UG has not fully opened up back was that it was conducting repairs to its sewage system but according to the minister, those rehabilitative works should have been completed already.

Since its closure at the beginning of the pandemic, the university has invested heavily in upgrading its online capabilities and ironing out the constraints students faced with accessing virtual classes.

In August 2022, the university announced that for the first time in its 59-year-old history, it was able to offer students three attendance options.

Those options included online, face-to-face or blended learning formats. On September 12 last year, UG began its education year and its traditional opening ceremony was held virtually.

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face-to-face classes, Gildarie-Freddie show, Guyana’s Education Minister Priya Manickchand, Priya Manickchand, the Education Minister told Kissoon while adding that the university, UG began its education, UG should be reopened

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