Education Ministry finalising school reopening guidelines

Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said a third draft of the reopening guidelines for schools has been prepared and will be discussed for a second time with health officials.

In a statement on Thursday, Gadsby-Dolly said physically, schools are generally prepared for reopening and many are in use as centres for CXC January exams, which begin on Monday.

She said the guidelines are being checked to ensure arrangements are in place to protect staff and students.

There are over 90 school repair projects going on, she said, adding issues which arise at the schools are being prioritised, including installing sinks at entrances.

Gadsby-Dolly said the second term has just begun and there have been no indications thus far of more challenges than were faced in the first term.

“More students continue to receive devices through the Adopt a School programme. This should alleviate some of the issues being faced.”

She said standard five and forms five and six students, who are preparing for exams this year, are being prioritised in the distribution of devices from the Telecommunications Authority of TT (TATT) for online learning.

Gadsby-Dolly said 800 devices were distributed to schools in December, and by next week, 2,400 more should be delivered.

In total, TATT donated 10,000 devices, to be distributed in the coming weeks.

She also said teachers began online training from UK-based NotesMasters, the CXC-Learning Institute and Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) learning hub, where online content is prepared by local teachers. Teachers are also able to create content on the platform.

“The training of teachers which began in March 2020 and continued for the rest of that year continues into 2021.”

She said Student Support Services are also available for students online. Officers trained in online delivery have continued to interact with students virtually since March.