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Education minister sets down conditions for physical classes

by Anesta Henry
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Schools will remain in online mode indefinitely, Acting Prime Minister and Minister of Education Santia Bradshaw suggested on Friday, declaring she is unable to give a date for reopening to physical classes but set down key conditions for making a decision.

Amid a wave of infections likely driven by the highly contagious Delta variant as the number of daily cases push past 160, Bradshaw said authorities need to see a reduction in the transmission rate and a significant boost in vaccination rates before she could give a date as to when face-to-face classes may be able to resume.

In an online forum with the National Association of Parent-Teacher Associations, she zeroed in on the need for more students and teachers to get vaccinated before a plan can be formulated to get more students and teachers back into a safe classroom.

She said: “All the pressure is on, we want the schools to open, but anything happens to these children, the conversation is going to shift completely. So I would rather err on the side of caution and explore what has been put on the table whether in this discussion or any of the discussions, so that we can say we have looked at swabs but they are probably not the best option at this time, we have looked at the saliva test but this is not the best option at this time.

“Or if it is, what is the cost? And we have looked at training persons to go into the schools to do these types of things as well. So, it is not to say that we are sitting doing nothing. But we have to be able to open our doors, so that all children can get the best of education and that no child is left behind.”

The education minister said that private schools are ready to reopen their doors having put all the necessary protocols in place but noted there may be some resistance at public schools.

Bradshaw said there are just over 2,100 students across the public and private high schools that need to be vaccinated. As of Thursday, 7,079 students in the 12 to 18 age group have been vaccinated; 2,691 12 to 14-year-olds and 4,388 15 to 18-year-olds, she reported.

She also noted that there has been a need to cater to students in isolation facilities, with an estimated 38 young people under age 18 currently infected with COVID-19.

The minister said: “We accept that everybody will not get vaccinated for different reasons because that has always been the case. Those reasons are very specific, but we are hopeful that we can get these numbers up higher so that we can at least start to even have the conversation. And my other concern is our first form students.

“Many of the first form students haven’t had the opportunity to even get to know their teacher, or make friends. I mean, can you imagine what they are going through in an online environment? And I ask myself sometimes if people have a heart because if we are to get them where we need to then there are some things as adults that we are going to have to do and some sacrifices that we are going to have to make.”

Bradshaw said Government has the responsibility to make sure that with the rising cases in children, other options available to offer a level of additional protection and comfort to parents and teachers and other stakeholders are being explored. On that note, Bradshaw said Government was in the process of looking at the procurement of sanitizing stations and the issue of testing at schools.

The Minister of Education said that while nurseries have been allowed to open, head of the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit Ronald Chapman intends to meet with management of the Child Care Board on Monday to discuss concerns regarding the three to five-year-old age group. (anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)

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