JISA anticipates more private schools opening in January

WESTERN BUREAU:

With 20 of the Jamaica Independent Schools Association’s (JISA) 150 member schools having reopened during the just-ended school term, the organisation is looking forward to more of its private schools resuming classes in the upcoming January term.

While the exact number of private schools to be reopened could not be ascertained, JISA President Dr Faithlyn Wilson told The Gleaner on Monday that that move would depend on how well the global COVID-19 pandemic is controlled at that time.

“In relation to our readiness for the opening of schools, the communication we have gotten so far suggests that 20 private schools have already reopened, and there are a number of others that intend to reopen in January. The only caveat on that would be on whether there is a spike in COVID-19 cases in January, so we have to be monitoring that,” said Wilson.

“We are just hoping that persons are obeying the COVID-19-containment measures that have been put in place by the Government, so that we will not have that spike in cases. We are also happy that the Government continues to monitor what happens internationally and respond, as in the case with what is happening with the United Kingdom and this new variant of the virus,” Wilson added, in reference to that region’s efforts to contain a new strain of the virus which was discovered last week.

Jamaica’s approximately 600 private schools, including the 150 represented by JISA, were forced to close their doors along with other educational institutions due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March.

Since the closure of schools, JISA has appealed for assistance from the Government following concerns that some private schools may have to be permanently shut down because of the financial fallout from the pandemic. One institution, the Smurfs Early Childhood Centre in Kingston, was shut down in June after 31 years of operation.

Wilson also gave an update on JISA’s planned distribution of tablets for private-school students to access online learning amid the pandemic, noting that a committee has been formed to determine the best way to proceed with that plan.

“Our executives met recently, and we have decided that we needed to continue to pursue the planned programme. We have not been able to get it off the ground in the way we expected, but we have formed a committee that is supposed to be focused on that project, going into the new year, and they will also be focused on developing the criteria for assigning those tablets to needy students,” Wilson explained.

JISA’s proposed tablet-distribution plan, which was previously announced in November, is similar to the Government’s One Tablet or Laptop Per Child initiative, which is aimed at enabling distance learning during the pandemic. Under the Government’s programme, 40,000 tablets are to be distributed to public-school students under the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education.