Face-to-face instruction as students prepare 11-Plus, CXC

Students across Barbados will return to classrooms on a phased basis starting Tuesday, April 20 following a year of navigating COVID-19 with mostly remote instruction and little in-person contact.

Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training Santia Bradshaw told a post-Cabinet Press conference tonight that face-to-face learning will start with classes 3 and 4 pupils at the primary level and those secondary students in the 5th and 6th forms, all of whom are preparing for examinations.

Bradshaw also said provision has been made for those students who just would not be in the frame of mind to take exams at this time to take the tests at a later date.

“I think most of you also know that the opportunity is there for those examinations at the secondary level for students to be able to defer in the event that students feel that they are not ready for the particular examination. That is something we gave a lot of thought to because we recognize that some students will simply not be ready, and we do not want to penalize them by forcing them to do an exam if they are not prepared,” she stated.

“With respect to all other students, the position that we have taken is that they will come back to school in a phased approach. We want to ensure that there is some face-to-face time for all other students and the intention is that they will be able to come in at least three days on, two days off. They will be doing the two days in the online environment to be able to ensure that they still continue their classes,” Bradshaw said in a statement prior to taking questions from the member of the press corps.

She cautioned that because of the dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic things could change for the worse, but she is hoping that if the positivity rate among the population improves and the cases continue to fall, more children would be integrated into the physical classrooms for term three.

“Nursery school students and students enrolled in the nursery units at primary schools will also be allowed to return face-to-face from Tuesday, 20 April using a phased approach. The schedule of those classes will be determined by the ministry in consultation with the principals at those schools,” the minister announced.

She gave the assurance that her ministry has been working with the COVID Monitoring Unit and the Ministry of Health to ensure physical distancing and spacing are right and that all the required materials and hand sanitizers are appropriately placed.

Bradshaw said her ministry’s decision to resume in-person teaching was motivated by Government’s ability to be able to minimize the risks of interactions between teachers and students due to an expansion of the national vaccination programme which has resulted in some 1,500 teachers being inoculated to date and another 800 expected to follow suit on Friday.

She also pointed to declining numbers of cases of the virus island-wide.

“We have determined that the priority for this phased return to school has to be the students who are preparing for examinations. It doesn’t mean the other students don’t matter. But it is important to recognize, especially for students who are preparing for the Common Entrance Examination, that there are already high levels of anxiety that these children face. It is almost like if exams determine a student’s life…because we are accustomed to hearing your school determines what you will be. But the reality is that it doesn’t,” the minister declared.

“And what has to be more important than ever is that we have to pause and recognize that these students have to get back into a face-to-face environment so that our teachers are in a position to be able to assess exactly where they are in terms of the loss of instructional time in the classroom,” Bradshaw added.

The education minister also addressed concerns regarding the length of time children will spend in the classrooms particularly considering the fact that they have to be wearing masks.

“We have felt that we needed to reduce the time being spent at school because we are mindful that a lot of these kids are wearing masks for the entire day…and I think just like many of you, it can become a little tedious having to wear a mask an entire day especially if you suffer from some kind of respiratory illness…asthma, it is difficult to wear it for six hours or so.”

Bradshaw said while there are masks breaks at the schools, the ministry still wants to give the students and teachers a further break.  As a result, schools are to open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

She disclosed that school monitors who were “very” effective in term one, will also return to the physical plant at the nursery and special needs

institutions and all primary schools on Monday, April 19.

The return to school in another four weeks appears set to go ahead without the full blessings of the island’s two main teachers’ unions.

Earlier this week, the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union (BSTU) said it could not support the reopening of schools for face-to-face instruction at this time.

In a press statement, the union outlined a series of considerations and questions which required answers by the ministry before teachers head back into the physical classroom.

It noted that coming out of a meeting with the Minister of Education on March 12, 2021, both BSTU and Barbados Union of Teachers were of the view that, while recognizing the undisputed imperfections and deficiencies of online teaching, a return to face-to-face instruction at this time cannot be supported by their members.

“Our position was informed by myriad considerations, as outlined to the Ministry, which have remained fundamentally unchanged at this time. The on-going second wave of COVID infection highlights how easily our resources can be overwhelmed to the detriment of all categories of persons in our society.

“The exponential increase in cases, uptick in deaths and the time it is taking to bring our numbers into sustained decline all indicate that the projected timeframe for an impending reopening of school…is too soon.

(emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb)