By Kareem Smith
There is growing uncertainty among teachers about the resumption of school which is scheduled for next week, which would mark the first time in more than four months that students and teachers engage in face-to-face learning and teaching.
At the start of the year, the COVID-19 pandemic forced students and teachers into online school, but showers of dust and ash from the eruption of the La Soufriere Volcano in St. Vincent and the Grenadines are now threatening to derail weeks of careful planning.
Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw revealed she would provide an update on the matter on Wednesday following extensive talks with the top brass of the country’s teachers’ trade unions.
President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Pedro Shepherd told Barbados TODAY that he would await an announcement by Minister Bradshaw.
In fact, Shepherd revealed that after preliminary assessments from some primary and secondary school principals, it is clear that the mammoth task is far too complex for even ancillary staff.
The effort will include the cleaning of roofs and gutters filled with ash that may have been hardened by intermittent rains. On the ground, it will likely include shovelling the mud-like deposits before clearing drains and washing down completely.
This newspaper was also informed that some teachers had expressed some concerns about being called in to help shovel ash, but this was quickly addressed by the ministry.
“It is clear that with the amount of cleaning that has to be done, we would have been expecting a decision from the ministry at least by Friday as to what is going to happen Monday, the 19th of April,” Shepherd told Barbados TODAY.
“I would only say that the BUT met with the Minister of Education along with other trade unions and principals’ associations. From the discussions, it is clear that there is yet a lot of cleaning to be done across the country.
“Schools obviously would have been impacted and the minister will make some determinations as to where we will go from here over the next 48 hours and we await word from the minister.
I wouldn’t want to preempt anything that the minister is going to say to the country,” he added.
President of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union Mary Redman confirmed that she was also engaged in Tuesday’s talks on behalf of dozens of members, particularly those tasked with preparing students for Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) exam.
“The minister will address the nation in relation to that,” Redman told Barbados TODAY.
“The members knew that we would have a meeting and they were just waiting to find out what the outcome of the meeting is… and they will hear that tomorrow,” she added.
For months, classes were halted due to this country’s largest and deadliest outbreak of the Coronavirus, that resulted in strict lockdowns from January to April.
Less than a month ago, Minister Bradshaw made a controversial decision to launch a phased reopening for the Trinity Term on April 19th, prioritising students preparing for exams. These include pupils in classes three and four in primary schools and fourth, fifth and sixth formers at secondary schools.
At the time, Bradshaw added that pupils would first need to be assessed to determine their progress after months of online instruction.
As recently as last week, officials from the Ministry of Education toured schools to assess their readiness for the resumption of face-to-face classes. These meetings were supposed to continue into this week, however, officials were forced to postpone them as a result of the indirect impact of the erupting volcano.
It is unclear how any further delays could impact teachers’ ability to cover the syllabi for exams, which, for those sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exam (CAPE), starts in July.
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)
