Education Minister Says Face-To-Face Classes Progressing Well

Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, says the Government has seen nothing, so far, to reverse course in its decision to resume face-to-face classes in schools across the island.

In fact, the Minister said that there is enough evidence to suggest that the continued practice of following health and safety protocols outlined by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, coupled with the total buy-in of parents and teachers, should see schools successfully going back to pre-pandemic days over time.

“The Ministry will continue our current strategy of monitoring how the schools are following and obeying the COVID-19 protocols,” Minister Williams told JIS News, following the official handover ceremony for the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) $14-million Salt Spring Safe Passage Project, at the Salt Spring Primary School, St. James, on January 27.

“Our responsibility is to bring our children back into the face-to-face environment as safely as we can… to stay on top of what is happening in our schools… and to ensure we get weekly reports that give us a sense of what is happening,” she said.

The Minister said that while it is unrealistic to believe that it will always be smooth sailing as it relates to stemming the flow of the pandemic, the Ministry, teachers, parents, and school administrators have put systems in place where any signs of possible exposure to the coronavirus is dealt with as swiftly as possible.

“While we have seen reports from some of our schools that say there are some teachers who are either positive or were exposed to persons with COVID, or some students who have symptoms of runny nose and so on… in those cases… teachers and students have stayed at home,” the Minister further explained.

“We are monitoring the situation and sharing that data with the Ministry of Health and Wellness. So far in our schools, based on the reports and the spot checks that we do, we are implementing face-to-face learning in as safe a manner as we can,” she added.

Mrs. Williams said there are also encouraging signs that many parents have been warming to the idea of their children getting vaccinated, noting that the number of high-school students who have done so has increased since last December.

“In our high schools, we continue to see the percentage of vaccinated students increase,” she added.

“When we ended December last year, it was 31 per cent of the students, but when I checked the numbers a week or so ago… we were at about 37 per cent. We are also seeing that children are still taking up the vaccines,” the Minister noted.

Over at Ocho Rios High School, St. Ann, face-to-face classes have finally resumed following a two-year hiatus.

Principal, Marvin Clowson, in a statement to parents, said there will be strict adherence to health and safety guidelines, noting that there would be a zero-tolerance approach to breaches.