Three more schools join face-to-face learning out west
Published:Wednesday | December 9, 2020 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Three schools in Hanover and Westmoreland opened their doors for resumption of face-to-face classes on Monday, joining several other schools islandwide which likewise reopened following an announcement from the Government.
Dr Michelle Pinnock, regional director for the Ministry of Education’s Region Four, told The Gleaner that the three schools – Cairn Curran Primary School and Frome Technical High School in Westmoreland; and Rhodes Hall High School in Hanover – commenced operations in a limited capacity, with the two high schools only admitting students who were preparing to sit examinations.
“Rhodes Hall High and Frome Technical High opened on Monday, and it was just the exam cohort, and not all of them at the same time. For Cairn Curran Primary, which is a school with about 35 children, we are just taking in grades three, four, five, and six, and it is on a rotational basis,” Pinnock explained.
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
“The feedback has been great, as the high school teachers and students appreciate the change. We were just able to make sure that they were prepared for their examinations, and so everything was okay and it is looking very positive,” Pinnock added.
A fourth school, Maude McLeod High School in Westmoreland, is slated to resume classes today, with the administrators taking Monday to conduct sensitisation exercises ahead of that opening.
The reopening of additional schools follows a two-week pilot programme involving 17 schools which were selected to resume face-to-face classes on a phased basis, beginning on November 10 and ending November 20. The number of additional reopened schools has not been ascertained.
However, the announcement for reopening of more schools did not find favour with Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Jasford Gabriel, who argued that it was illogical for the Government to open more schools so close to the end of the school term. Gabriel said that a bulletin should have been sent out with the names of schools to resume classes and their starting dates.
Prior to Monday’s reopening, 109 schools were inspected and given approval by the Ministry of Education, as part of the phased reopening of schools in 2020.