SEA students back in class on Monday

Standard five students at primary schools are due to return to classes on Monday for a month of revision with teachers for the SEA exam on August 20.

Denominational school boards have said they have been preparing to manage classes under the physical distancing guidelines set out as part of covid19 protocols.

The Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM) said standard five teachers have concerns about the guidelines, although they are will to return to school on Monday.

CEBM CEO Sharon Mangroo told the Catholic News, in this Sunday’s edition, the physically distanced seating of each standard five class will be distributed over two or more classrooms.

She said, “The single standard five teacher will not be physically present to the students in all classrooms and, therefore, may not be able to ensure that all students are safe and secure.”

She added for large schools, where there are three and four standard five classes, this will be especially difficult.

The CEBM said it is was still awaiting word from the Education Ministry about supplies to be given to principals for sanitising.

A standard five teacher at an all-boys’ school, who requested anonymity, said the school has two SEA classes totalling 49 students. In keeping with physical distancing protocols, desks have been spaced six feet apart, which spread each class into three classrooms.

She said teachers were due to be out on the weekend to help clean the classrooms and the principal would source a thermal gun for Monday.

“We are still working it out,” she said told Sunday Newsday last week. “As we go along, we will see how things go.”

She said the furniture may have to be rearranged depending on the students’ feedback when they return on Monday.

“We have to see how things work out when the students come out.”

She said the most important thing is student preparedness.

“That interaction is important,” she said, adding she gave her students a two-week break from revision before coming out. “We’ve been at it for so long. But the consensus from the boys is let’s get it over and done with.”

The SEA exam was postponed from April 2 when schools were closed in March as a precaution against the spread of the virus. In June, it was announced the exam would be on August 20, and classes were to resume on July 20.

Anglican primary schools are ready, Cheryl Jackson, secretary of the Anglican Education Board of Management, said last Wednesday. She said most schools had adopted physical distancing and sanitisation protocols and all SEA students and teachers will be out on Monday. Sinks will be placed at the front of the schools and thermometers will be set up for temperature checks on entry.

Jackson said from the time the dates were announced, cleaners were sent to sanitise classrooms and would have done so at least twice a week.

“From (last) Monday, 13 cleaners have been out every day, and this will continue until the end of the year,” she said.

Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha secretary general Vijay Maharaj said on Wednesday standard five classes will resume on Monday with all health regulations in place for the students to “reacquaint themselves with the schoolwork and get ready to write exams on August 20.”

But a standard five teacher of a small school on the east coast said no one has been in the school since it closed in March.

She said although she has not heard from the principal about reopening on Monday, she is ready to return to teach her students. She is the only teacher of a standard five class of eight students.

She said during the lockdown, internet service in the area was so bad it made online sessions very difficult, so the students could use the time to revise from Monday.

Because of the size of the school, physical distancing won’t be a problem, so she is not worried about it for the SEA exam.

“Parents know to send them with masks and hand sanitiser,” she said, but as for additional safety protocols, she could not say much because she is still awaiting official word. In June, TTUTA said teachers expressed concern about having to come out during their vacation to prepare students for SEA in August. Minister of Education Anthony Garcia maintained the date would not change.