Bradshaw maintains schools will be closed to in-person classes

School will remain online indefinitely, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw said Wednesday, hinting that a fully vaccinated teaching service would be a key path to a safe education environment amid a rampant surge in coronavirus infections nationwide.

She told journalists at a briefing: “It pains me to know children are missing out on education. While we have looked at some thresholds to help schools go back to normalcy, we will have to do a bit more at the public school level to allay fears of students, teachers, unions and parents, so we will continue our consultations in conjunction with the National Council of Parent Teacher Associations.

“We will talk to parents about where we are, looking at concerns about going back to school, which may include plans to improve the school plants to accommodate children six feet apart rather than three feet apart as it is presently.”

She said she wanted to see at least 70 per cent of all teachers and ancillary staff vaccinated before schools are allowed to reopen, as well as other measures put in place to protect the unvaccinated within that environment.

The acting Prime Minister added: “We are as concerned as you are about the numbers, but we want to reach a point where the schools, their boards of management and teachers and parents have come to a threshold where teachers are vaccinated and parents are comfortable, and we will work with them through the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit to allow children back into school but that is a work in progress.

“That is our intention, but we are charting a road map to get to this point. We are working as a country towards a threshold where we want to see ten thousand people vaccinated every week, as well as to ensure that our children between the ages of 12 and 17 are vaccinated before returning to school, and that 70 percent of teachers and ancillary staff are vaccinated as well.”

As Minister of Education, Bradshaw said she wanted schools to have enough nasal swab and saliva kits for testing for the virus “to give another layer of protection to the students and teachers in the school environment.”

She urged Barbadians to get vaccinated but gave them an option of sticking to masking and sanitizing protocols if they did not want to get vaccinated.

Bradshaw declared: “Every day the dynamics are changing and no one expected our children would be getting as sick as they are. Let us get this country vaccinated – we understand the hesitancy but understand this is not just about us. if you won’t get vaccinated, wear your masks, wash your hands and sanitise, keep your distances, but don’t prevent the children from getting back to their education.”
(DH)