Only a couple schools have hit 65% vax target

Against the backdrop of an emerging COVID-19 fourth wave and Monday’s resumption of face-to-face classes, Education Minister Fayval Williams has said that the Holness administration has not established an infection or positivity rate benchmark that would trigger the closure of schools.

“That benchmark would have to be from the Ministry of Health and Wellness. We work with them and we take instructions, with regard to this health pandemic, from them,” Williams said.

At the end of December, 32 per cent of students 12 years and older were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, the education minister said.

Williams said only one or two schools had met the 65 per cent vaccination target.

Jamaica received its first batch of COVID-19 home test kits in December, which were donated to tourism workers.

The education ministry has requested that some be provided to teachers, who have begun engaging with students in-person for the new term.

The minister explained that the shipment has not yet arrived but she has been given a commitment from the health minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, that some will be allocated to the education sector.

Williams encouraged parents and, by extension, eligible children to take the necessary steps so that classes can return to normal operations.

“I’ve been preaching the gospel of getting vaccinated. That’s their first line of defence and we also need everyone to be following the protocols,” Williams said.

Meanwhile, St Andrew West Rural Member of Parliament Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn lauded the education ministry for sending out teams to find students who have not been engaged in the education process.

At the height of the pandemic locally, more than 100,000 students were believed to have had negligible, or no, engagement with teachers. Schools were ordered closed in mid-March 2020. Efforts at phased reopening has been a case of fits and starts – hobbled, mainly, by sporadic infections at specific institutions or islandwide outbreaks.

Cuthbert-Flynn, who is also the state minister for health, said she is concerned about the number of students out of school in St Andrew West Rural.

“I’ve gone into communities where there is Internet service and the children are not online at all. We have to dig deeper to find out why some of the parents have not been sending their children to school,” she said.

Two primary schools in Red Hills are off to a good start following the resumption of face-to- face classes on Monday.

Grades five and six coordinator at Rock Hall Primary School, Cleopatra Francis-Peart, told The Gleaner that student turnout improved from 50 per cent on Monday to 80 per cent on Tuesday.

Students in grade five and six are scheduled to attend school every day on a shift basis, while lower-school students have in-person classes for two days per week and log on online for the remainder of the week.

Francis-Peart said the majority of the teaching and ancillary staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

She expressed concern about the learning loss among students and their inability to manage distractions while in online classes.

“I find that what I have taught online, I have to be teaching it again. They seemed to be receptive online, but it appears as if some of them were googling stuff to respond to questions,” she said.

“I’m seeing some improvement so far, even though we have to revisit what was done online. The pandemic really put some of them in a stagnant position.”

Principal of Red Hills Primary, Paul Glenroy Messam, disclosed that grade six students will attend school all week, while younger students will be engaged both in-person and online.

Each child has been mandated to carry a small bottle of sanitiser and two extra masks.

“We had meetings with our parents on Monday and we will be having another one to remind them that students should be picked up on time to avoid lingering on the compound,” Messam said.

The principal added that all teachers were vaccinated in preparation for the return to face-to-face classes.

Meanwhile, Red Hills Primary’s guidance counsellor, Shane Sutherland, revealed that students from low-income families are being supported by the school with uniforms, shoes, and other school supplies.

“We have received donations from parents whose children have outgrown their uniforms, from external entities and past students overseas but we are still in need of support,” he said.

Sutherland added that though students are excited to be back at school, there are some who may be suffering from the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidance counsellor has asked teachers to be on the lookout for students who are withdrawn or who are displaying maladaptive behaviours and recommend them for one-on-one therapy sessions.

Sutherland added that even though several announcements have been made about the resumption of school, he will have to embark on home visits to talk to parents about the importance of education for their children – whether physically or online.

judana.murphy@gleanerjm.com