‘Vaccinated not welcome’
Man operates school from home to help students catch up on lessons
Published:Saturday | November 13, 2021 | 12:09 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
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It seemed that whoever wrote the sign had made a huge blunder. “Vaccination warning!! Do not enter this premises if you are vaccinated!!! Please understand! No dis!,” it read. Certainly, they meant ‘unvaccinated’. After venturing inside to point...
It seemed that whoever wrote the sign had made a huge blunder.
“Vaccination warning!! Do not enter this premises if you are vaccinated!!! Please understand! No dis!,” it read.
Certainly, they meant ‘unvaccinated’.
After venturing inside to point out the error, Rohan Kanhai Perry set The Gleaner straight by insisting that the sign meant exactly what it said: No one who is vaccinated was welcome inside the yard in Jones Town, Kingston 12.
“I can cope with persons who are vaccinated, but I don’t want to [sideline] a set of kids whose parents are very strict and say they are not vaccinating their kids and want a place for them to continue their education. This is the place, especially for those children who are going to be marginalised because their parents make a decision and say they are not vaccinating them,” he explained.
Face-to-face classes
This week, the Government began allowing some institutions to resume face-to-face classes for some students at the primary level. Children at the early-childhood level had previously kicked off the phased resumption of face-to-face classes with some infant and basic schools permitted to do so under strict COVID-19 protocols.
Being unvaccinated against COVID-19 does not exclude any student.
On Monday, the Cabinet also approved plans to administer the Pfizer vaccine to children 12 years and older, with the roll-out slated to take place predominantly in schools.
Perry – whose father, an ardent cricket fan, named him Rohan Kanhai because of his admiration for the skills of the Guyanese and West Indian batting great – had about 35 young children under his care, with pupils as young as three years old, when The Gleaner visited on Thursday.
They seemed bright, polite, inquisitive and bubbling with energy while watching their teacher interact with our news team.
The former sales manager/trainer has been operating the Community Builders’ Development School from his home for some 13 years and cites the achievements of his daughter, Amelia, who is now a high-school student, as a measure of his success over the years.
After being pulled from a primary school in the area, she was homeschooled and went on to win awards for the Most Disciplined Student and was a top Primary Exit Profile (PEP) performer with a 95 per cent average.
Classes start at 8 o’clock in the morning, Monday to Friday, for those students who arrive with their electronic devices for online lessons. The other students arrive to begin their day at about 10 o’clock, with a new shift getting under way at 3 in the afternoon.
Solid foundation
Perry believes that, once children master the art of reading, they are set on a solid educational platform.
“One of my greatest achievements is getting them to read. Once you can get a child to read, then they are halfway towards their educational success,” he emphasised.
The Calabar High School graduate explained that there are 17 basic skills that a child should learn before reaching the age of six, and he is committed to ensuring that they master these. Included in this list are things such as the visual discrimination of numbers and letters as well as knowing shapes and colours. Integral to this is their development of the motor skills to allow them to write properly and comfortably.
While he does not charge a fee, Perry admits that the parents have been generous with their financial contributions.