PNP calls for the development of an education policy for all students

Opposition spokesperson on Education and Training, Dr Angela Brown Burke, is calling for the Ministry of Education to develop a policy that places emphasis on all students.

Brown Burke is contending that “attention to all students is important because learning is cumulative, and focus on only the exam grades now compromises the prospects of future exam grades.”

Her comments follow yesterday’s statement by the Education Minister of Education, Fayval Williams, advising schools to focus on students preparing for exit exams at grades 6, 11, 12 and 13.

READ: Only students sitting exams to participate in face-to-face teaching

“Giving adequate support to students to sit their final exams is necessary but the piecemeal approach being taken by the Ministry of Education is not sufficient and will do more harm than good to the remaining batches of students," Brown Burke said.

She added that Williams needs to articulate a more developmental strategy that considers the entire student population.

Brown Burke is recommending that a systematic plan from the Ministry must consider:

 - The importance of in-person early childhood education, since socialisation is key to character building and learning.

 -  Prioritising teachers for early vaccination. 

 “At this point, the Government is focused on whether or not to resume face-to-face classes, but no thought is being given to more long-term arrangements, such as decisions around reconstituting the summer holidays to make up for lost learning. These are issues that the Opposition has been urging the Government to plan for since the inception of the pandemic," she said.

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