Private Schools Included In No Face-To-Face Rule

Private schools have now been included in the no face-to-face rule that has been put in place for public educational institutions.

This, as the Government further tightens measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which has seen a spike in cases in recent weeks.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, made the announcement during a virtual press conference from the Office of the Prime Minister Media Centre on Sunday (February 28).

Under the rule, which was announced last week and now applies to private institutions, only students preparing for exit examinations are to be engaged in face-to-face teaching.

These include grade-six students, who are preparing for the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), and students from grades 11 to 13, who will be sitting the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) this year.

“We made an exception to allow face-to-face for private schools. Because of the stage that we are at now and the threat that we face, the same rules that we are applying to the public schools will be applied to the private schools,” the Prime Minister said.

He pointed out that it is only the pre-approved institutions that can carry out, if they choose to, face-to-face teaching for the specified grades.

“Otherwise, the entire education system – public or private – should move to online or other modalities,” the Prime Minister said.

In addition, students with special needs are also allowed to engage in face-to-face instruction.

The new measures will be in place from March 1 to March 22.