Education Minister Fayval Williams yesterday reiterated that schools will not be able to hold face-to-face classes at the start of the new academic year scheduled for next week, even as the Government pushes its COVID-19 vaccination programme for students 12 years and older.
“As best as we can see into the future, what we are seeing is that we cannot begin school in the face-to-face mode. We have to remain in the online mode, the remote mode… As we go forward, we will get greater clarity,” Williams said, adding that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will provide clear projections as it continues to monitor the COVID-19 situation daily.
Williams was speaking at a virtual town hall meeting on vaccination for students during which she and a panel of officials from the education and health ministries faced a deluge of questions from parents.
She noted that secondary school students could return to the classroom before the end of this year, depending on directives from the Ministry of Education.
“We have a wish, we have a hope…we would love to see face-to-face for our secondary school students starting in mid-October but, again, we have to be guided as we go along and as we get new information; as the ministry develops its projections we will know,” she said.
Minister Williams stressed that the situation at the primary level is more complex, as no vaccines are available at this time for children below age 12.
“When we are able to bring the children in our primary and early childhood sector back to face-to-face mode we will do so,” she said.
Williams also told the parents that, while students 12 years and older, who are vaccinated against COVID-19, will be prioritised for face-to-face learning when it becomes possible, no child will be denied access to education.
The Government announced last week that secondary school students will only return to face-to-face classes when their schools attain a 65 per cent or higher vaccination rate.
“We will not be denying any student education; we will be providing education on a number of different platforms — online, television, and radio, and the learning kits — that we will be using until we are able to add face-to-face modality. At that time, as well, we will be prioritising those students that are vaccinated, so we are asking parents to really consider the environment in which you are living. Based on the information we are seeing, millions of people are taking the vaccine and we see the comparison between the vaccinated and unvaccinated and what is happening in our hospitals,” she stressed.
Williams also pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccine is not mandatory for anyone at this time.
She said that under normal circumstances there would be no distinction made between when primary and secondary schools resume, but the novel coronavirus pandemic had forced this distinction.
Some parents remain adamant that they will not consent to their children taking the COVID-19 vaccine. Last evening, some remarked during the forum that the ministry had changed its motto to “Every child must learn – once they are vaccinated”, while others demanded answers regarding the way forward for students who opt not to take the vaccine.
The health ministry rolled out its vaccination programme for children two weekends ago, following the arrival of the first batch of over 200,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine from the United States. Another 400,000 doses are scheduled to arrive over three months.
There are close to 600,000 students in the public school system.
It was clear by the questions and concerns flooding the ministry’s social media platforms yesterday that many parents, just days before resumption of classes, were unsure how to proceed.
In the meantime, acting permanent secretary in the education ministry, Dr Grace McLean, urged parents to reach out to their schools for guidance on the resumption of classes. She said ministry officials met with 1,000 principals, school administrators, and heads of boards yesterday, and would continue meeting with school leadership in the coming days.