There are chronic problems that pose grave threats to our public education system; and they need to be addressed post-haste.Almost every week, there is an issue or issues at some school plant across the island that forces closure. These closures have an impact on the students, some of who are already facing challenges due to the lack of teaching during the height of the COVID pandemic.How can we expect these students to settle down and get on with the job if classes continue to be interrupted? How can the teaching staff get a rhythm going if they either do not feel safe at work or are falling ill due to environmental issues? How are parents to cope when they receive calls, while on the job, that they must come and collect their charges or make arrangements to have them collected?Serious decisions have to be made and action must be taken in order to ensure that these disruptions are the exceptions and not the rule.Over the past week alone hundreds of students have lost precious teaching time.Last week classes at the Frederick Smith Secondary School were disrupted. The majority of teachers stayed away from the Trents, St James educational institution in an apparent sickout. The action forced the school closure.
