Schools could reopen as early as Feb.

Schools on New Providence and Abaco could open as soon as February or March, Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd said yesterday. 

Schools closed in March following the first case of COVID-19. Students then started attending classes virtually. 

Lloyd said yesterday that his ministry is involved in intense discussions with the Ministry of Health to determine under what circumstances face-to-face classes can resume.

“We are collaborating with the Ministry of Health to determine under what parameters would they give approval for face-to-face,” he said. 

He noted that the earliest health officials see classes resuming face-to-face is February or March.

 “Our expectation is you’re looking at somewhere around the first part of February,” he said.

“[Let’s] get past this Christmas season, you know how Bahamians…sometimes, they don’t behave. Let’s see what the implications are and then we’re ready to go because the education mantra this year is: Safety first, education always.

“Parents have expressed no reservations about going back to school face-to-face as long as the health protocols and observations can be maintained.” 

Schools on other islands were already allowed to conduct face-to-face learning.

Schools on New Providence and Abaco are allowed to operate face-to-face as long as the school received permission from the Ministry of Education after consultation with the Ministry of Health, and subject to conditions as may be imposed by the ministry.

The 2019/2020 school year ended abruptly for students and teachers around the country after the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in The Bahamas on March 15. Schools nationwide were shuttered to in-person learning for the remainder of the school year to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Three days after public schools opened on Monday, October 5, the prime minister announced in a House of Assembly communication that all schools on New Providence and Abaco may only proceed via virtual means.

Yesterday, when asked about students who may have slipped through cracks as a result of Hurricane Dorian and the pandemic, Lloyd replied, “That’s why our teachers are so dedicated and deserve all of our praise because they have been working overtime to assist those students. We are now in the throes — right this minute now — of devising strategies as to how we can remedy that.

“As you know, traditionally, students who have not met the minimum requirements in a particular year, there’s the summer school. So, we have the summer.

“We have the breaks during Easter breaks and so on. All of those and every other conceivable, creative tactic will be employed to make sure that our students do not fall through the cracks because we cannot afford it.”

Last month, the minister told The Nassau Guardian that 25 percent of public school students on New Providence and Abaco had not logged on for virtual school, noting that if they do not meet certain requirements by the end of the school year, they could face repeating the grade level.

“So, if 30,000 or thereabout is in New Providence and Abaco at 75 percent, then we’re looking at 24,000 who are logging on,” Lloyd said.

“So, there are 6,000 students who are wandering the streets or otherwise not dutifully engaged in their educational pursuit.”

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source https://thenassauguardian.com/schools-could-reopen-as-early-as-feb/