Given the various extenuating circumstances surrounding the pandemic, TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president, Antonia De Freitas, said some of the 2,000 students who were unable to access online classes since March 2020 will likely continue their education once normal classes resume.

Last month, Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said 2,000 primary and secondary school students dropped out of TT's education system since the pandemic began as it was the number of students the Student Support Services Division (SSSD) could not contact.

Commenting on the matter at a press conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's on Saturday, the Prime Minister said children dropping out of school was of great concern but it was not surprising.

He admitted that some children and families did not get the kind of support they should have had which led them to slipping out of the school system. And even for those who remained in the system, there were negative effects because of what the education system became during the pandemic.

'That is something that is going to come back to us eventually. We will not leave it that way. We'll have to try to find those people later on and see how we can get them back on track for their education in one form or the other.'

However, Dr Freitas stressed that to dropout meant a student had absolutely discontinued their education.

She said thousands did not join their schools' virtual classes due to concerns about availability of devices and proper connectivity because of location, socio-economic status, and other factors.

She pointed out that, at a Joint Select Committee in January, the ministry estimated about 60,000 students did not have devices or connectivity. Even now with the ministry having distributed some devices and with donations from corporate entities and individuals, there were still a significant number without devices.

In April, Gadsby-Dolly said 26,450 primary school students and 8,998 secondary school students were still without laptops and other devices for online learning. She later said 22,000 devices were donated by 60 donors through the Adopt-A-School programme and that the government purchased 20,000 more, which should be available by mid-June. Parents and guardians of students without devices were asked to complete and submit a means test form to determine the eligibility of students for allocation of laptop computers.

De Freitas said students not having access to virtual classes did not mean they had dropped out of school.

She added that many students in both primary and secondary schools were given work packages because they could not access classes online and that number fluctuated over the past months.

Due to the restrictions of the state of emergency as well as the continued public health challenges, members of TTUTA were advised not to engage in movement from place to place to deliver packages or have parents pick them up.

They too, can not be considered dropouts.

In addition, the ministry had alternative learning TV programme