MONTEGO BAY, St James — Minister of Education, Youth and Information Karl Samuda made it clear yesterday that, as a measure to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), schools that are used as polling stations for the September 3 General Election will not be reopened for the new academic school year on September 7, if not sanitised.

“Make no mistake about it, those schools will not be reopened if we are not satisfied that they are properly sanitised,” Samuda said.

Schools were ordered shut in March shortly after Jamaica recorded its first COVID-19 case, and classes shifted to online. But that had challenges as a number of students were left disadvantaged because because of poor or lack of Internet services. At the same time, thousands did not have instruments to get online. Fifth form secondary students returned to school for the May/June Caribbean Examinations Council examinations.

Speaking at the third and final day of the 56th Annual Conference of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, Samuda, who conceded that he is concerned about the matter, appealed to educators to immediately report to the Ministry of Education if their school is not sanitised after the national polls.

“Anyone that does not see this being done please report it to us immediately and we will contact the electoral office [as] it is a concern of mine. The moment the election is over there is the recounting, and usually recounting can take up to two days, so that puts you up to the 5th, 6th [of September] and then you open on the 7th. So we will have to work very, very quickly in collaboration with the director of elections to make sure that these schools are properly sanitised,” the education minister responded to a question from the floor.

In the meantime, he announced that barring no alarming spike in COVID-19 cases, schools will be reopened as scheduled on September 7, guided by the Ministry of Health.

“The only thing that would cause a delay of school is if we continue to have unusual spikes. The situation that occurred in St Thomas is concerning and appropriate measures have been taken to ensure that we can do everything possible to contain it. So only in circumstances where there is this kind of sudden outbreak that it would give us cause [to delay reopening], other than that, we are fully prepared to reopen schools,” Samuda told reporters.

“All the provisions have been made to accommodate a safe re-entry, with emphasis on sanitising and a system by which the schools will be sanitised throughout the day, general maintenance and social distancing. We have already made those changes,” said the minister.

He said wherever the issue of space arises, alternative arrangements will be sought with churches and other organisations “that have space to provide the children with face-to-face or by way of online learning”.

“So I would say, barring a sudden or tragic outbreak we will proceed to open on the 7th [of September],” Samuda insisted.

The education minister announced that there will be a blended approach, with emphasis on online learning, which will play critical role in tuition going forward.

“It means that because of the limitation of space we have to engage online learning. It is critical! We cannot afford to have the children not exposed to the educational system. In that regard we have adopted a blended learning approach and we will continue to negotiate with Internet providers to provide even greater access and better plans for our students and teachers, especially as we embark on this new environment for this new academic year,” Samuda said.

“We have held parent and teacher consultations and throughout August we will host a series of virtual town halls to engage our students directly because we have to get their views as well. We can’t keep planning for their future without them,” Samuda said.

“And, we will hold consultation with our stakeholders — Jamaica Teachers’ Association, National Parent-Teachers’ Association, Jamaica ecumenical church groups , Jamaica Independent Schools’ Association, Jamaica Prefects’ Association, the National Secondary Students’ Council and representatives of tertiary institutions, among others. No decision will be taken without consulting these groups. In addition, we will continue to meet directly with teachers to be kept aware of what is happening out there and get [their] reports.”

The JTA conference was held under the theme: ‘Promoting Digital Transformation and Positive Values and Attitudes: Imperative for Redefining 21st Century Education’.