New academic year will open with campuses closed, laptops open

School will be online only when the new academic year on September 20 starts, Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw announced Tuesday.

The decision comes amid a new, strong surge of coronavirus infections, apparently linked to the highly contagious Delta variant which has affected more children. Some schools, including Darryl Jordan Secondary and Blackman and Gollop Primary, have already been pressed into service as isolation centres.

“We believe, and after discussions this morning with the various representatives of the trade union movement, as well as the PTA’s

[Parent Teacher Associations], we believe that the time has now come for us as we approach the start of the September term to go fully online and therefore I want to announce that all classes will begin for both students at the public and private schools on the 20th of September but they will now be fully online,” Bradshaw said in a video statement.

Over 100 students are now in isolation across the various centres, the minister said. As of Monday evening, a total of 2,100 students out of a total of approximately 21,000 across both public and private schools had been vaccinated, she revealed.

But expressing concern about the rising rate of infections among children, most of whom are ineligible for vaccination, the education minister said: “We’ve also been in discussions with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and we’re concerned about the rising number of cases, particularly amongst our young people.

“We’re hearing that at younger ages people are being affected, but in particular we’re concerned about the number of cases that we’re seeing confronting the country in relation to our children, the Delta variant as I think you know, is quite a transmissible virus and as such we now have, I think, over 100 students in isolation across the various sites.”

As the surge of COVID-19 cases continues more schools may be drafted to assist the Ministry of Health, said the minister.

“In order to be able to get ahead of this particular virus, there may be other sites in the coming weeks that may have to be used,” said Bradshaw.

“Some of our schools may have to be used. It is not a measure of first resort, but the truth of the matter is that many of our schools have in fact been upgraded and the bathroom facilities and showers lend to being able to be considered as an adequate facility to be able to host persons who may be sick.

“In the past few days, we’ve had to set up the Blackman and Gollop as an isolation facility and I know that there are some who believe that we shouldn’t be using these schools, but the truth of the matter is that this facility has been able to serve the Ministry of Health and Wellness well.

“In the past, we’ve been able to hand it back over to the school at the appropriate time, and I think the situation now warrants that we’re able to provide additional facilities for the Ministry of Health and Wellness.”

Admitting that it will not be an easy move to online learning again, Bradshaw said the education ministry will try its best to equip teachers to help them make a smooth transition.

She said: “We know that it’s not easy on parents as well because of the challenges that we have trying to get children to concentrate in the home environment, but what we have undertaken over the past few months is to provide devices to our students to be able to enable them to at least access the online environment and to be able to engage with their classmates and certainly their teachers in the online environment.”

A mental health and wellness committee of senior psychologists is working together with guidance counsellors, social workers and primary school counsellors to help students cope with the challenge of learning under the coronavirus virus restrictions as the pandemic drags on, according to the minister.

“They’ve been working with our safety officers to ensure that when our students return, whether in an online way or whether in a face-to-face way, that we’re able to have the necessary support systems in place to be able to address any of the challenges that they may face, and I want to assure the public that we are well aware of the difficulties that our students are facing,” said Bradshaw. “But equally, we are also well aware of the challenges that some of our teachers have been having as well in coping in the online environment.”
(kobiebroomes@barbadostoday.bb)