MANY first and second form students will step inside their secondary school classrooms for the very first time on Monday following the Ministry of Education's mandate that sees physical classes return on a rotational basis.
Form three students will also begin attending in-person classes on rotation, while standard five primary school students will return to their schools full-time in preparation for the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA), which they will sit on March 31.
The ministry made these announcements last month in a news release, noting that each school principal was responsible for sharing details of arrangements with parents and students. All students, the ministry said, should be required to attend school physically on two days per week, at minimum, and five days in a ten-day cycle.
The return to classrooms has been welcome news for many parents, while others have expressed concern about its potential to exacerbate the spread of covid19 and the omicron variant. Teachers and their union have also been sceptical, largely because of infrastructural problems at the schools, particularly at the primary level.
TT Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) president Antonia Tekah-De Freitas, speaking on a talk show recently, said while teachers themselves are prepared to return to classes, the bigger issue is whether schools are ready for the students and teachers to return.
She also argued that the proposed rotation "is an infringement of the terms and conditions of educators."
Tekah-De Freitas said between 25 and 30 schools have submitted requests for repairs. Sunday Newsday understands there are electrical issues at St Stephen's College, San Fernando, and students are unsure when they will return to classes on Monday. Other schools are reportedly facing plumbing, sanitary, and other infrastructural issues.
Speaking briefly with Newsday on Saturday, Tekah-De Freitas said, "Principals of these (primary schools) have indicated that they have submitted to the Ministry of Education (via the School Infrastructure Management System) about repairs that needed to be done on the schools over the last two years.
"In some instances, some of the repairs have been done in some schools, and in other instances, no repairs have been done."
She said TTUTA learnt last week that some principals were notified by e-mail that repairs were done on their schools and work was being closed on the infrastructure management system.
[caption id="attachment_938196" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Customers wait to buy uniforms at Bradford Mall, Henry Street, Port of Spain, on Saturday, for children in forms one-three and standard five who due to begin returning to schools from Monday. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]
However, Tekah-De Freitas said some principals have indicated, as fact, that no one visited their schools to do repairs or any kind of work. "That's an issue of accountability, but that's something the government has to deal with," she said.
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