School relief
Thousands of primary students get Nov 8 green light for face-to-face
Published:Wednesday | October 27, 2021 | 4:17 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter
More than 45,000 students and 2,520 teachers at the primary level have been given the green light to return to face-to-face classes beginning November 8, but the institutions will have to adhere to a strict risk-based model, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said.
At the same time, infant and basic schools are also being allowed to engage in face-to-face learning while 11th- to 13th-graders at the secondary level preparing for external exams will also be allowed in-person attendance for the completion of labs and other exam-related activities.
“These will be done in small groups using a rotation schedule as guided by the COVID-19 protocols,” Holness said on Tuesday evening, while announcing tweaked measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Under the new dispensation, 376 of 759 primary schools will be allowed to resume face-to-face learning. Of the 376 schools, 191, or approximately 51 per cent, are small primary schools with fewer than 100 students enrolled.
Holness also pointed out that of the 191 small schools, 171 were rural institutions in remote areas with students living in proximity to the institution and requiring minimal transportation.
“Students in rural or remote communities are more affected by lack of Internet or low bandwidth issues and are less likely to be consistently on the online platform. It is on this basis that small primary schools are being recommended in this phase of face-to-face resumption,” he said.
For 185 medium-sized primary schools with enrolment of 630 or fewer, Holness said that students would benefit from face-to-face learning on a rotational basis, with some receiving instruction in the classrooms while others would continue to access online and other learning platforms.
POTENTIAL FOURTH WAVE
Discussing the risk profile of the schools, Holness said that several areas will be examined, including enrolment, utilisation rate (number of students enrolled as against the number of spaces), the number of COVID cases in communities near the schools, access to water for drinking and sanitation, Internet connection, and the average distance students travel to school.
Warning of the prospect of a fourth coronavirus wave, the prime minister appealed to all adults, including teachers and other support staff, to get vaccinated, especially if they have comorbidites.
Up to Tuesday, only 13.4 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
The prime minister said that parents and caregivers should also protect themselves by getting vaccinated.
Holness said that as schools reopen, there was the likelihood that infections would increase.
Meanwhile, former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education, Elaine Foster-Allen, said that the quality of education being offered online has been severely compromised, putting in jeopardy the future of thousands of Jamaicans.
Inconsistent Internet access and inadequate broadband width have undermined the quality of online education delivery, said Foster-Allen, arguing that many students were unsupervised during class time.
On Tuesday, she told a virtual press conference hosted by the People’s National Party (PNP) that the times have been challenging the very principles of equality, equity, and the right to education in Jamaica.
“We cannot to this day account for between 108,000 and 120,000 children who have just not been accessing education,” she declared.
Christopher Serju contributed to this story.