Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said 59.3 per cent of the students expected to attend school on Monday showed up for class.

In a statement on Monday, Gadsby-Dolly said 16,688 students were rostered to attend physical classes on Monday. Of those, 9,907 were present at school.

Gadsby-Dolly, last Wednesday, said all students forms four-six, vaccinated or unvaccinated would be required to return to physical classrooms from Monday and their teachers would no longer be required to teach virtual classes.

Students in forms one-three will continue their classes virtually and return to physical classrooms in January if all goes well with their schoolmates in the upper forms.

She said, 'During the period of October 11-15, a daily average of 5,654 students were rostered for physical school attendance, with the average daily attendance being 3,822 students.'

Denominational schools saw 3,459 of their students present in the physical classroom compared to the daily average of 2,061 during the same time frame.

At government schools, 6,448 students were present compared to the previous daily average of 1,760.

'The ministers of education along with ministry officials visited four schools on October 25: ASJA Boys' and Girls' College, Charlievillle, as well as Chaguanas North and South Secondary. Students, principals, and teachers expressed happiness at being out to school, as they were cognisant of the importance of physical school attendance for student success.

'The emphasis on safety measures was also observed in the socially distanced arrangement of classrooms, masking of all school personnel and the implementation of entry protocols, including thermal scanning and hand washing. Many schools also engaged rotational schedules to ensure that social distancing protocols are maintained.'