KINGSTON, Jamaica— Acting Chief Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Dr Kasan Troupe, says that approximately 17,000 students and 3,000 teachers have, so far, indicated their interest in the National Summer School initiative, which commences on Monday.

The programme forms part of Government’s ‘Recover Smarter-National School Learning and Intervention Plan’ aimed at helping students to recover from learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The summer school sessions will be held for approximately two hours per day, Monday to Thursday, from July 5 to August 19. They will be delivered online and face-to-face, with the latter component primarily targeted at students who have not been consistently engaged with the education system.

Addressing a virtual town hall on the initiative on Wednesday, Troupe said that the students were referred to the summer programme by teachers.

“They (teachers) are working with us and we are now organising for the timetables because the data changes by the minute. This morning, we started out with approximately 9,000 students on the platform and by 4:00 (pm), we saw approximately 17,000 students on the platform registered for the programme,” she said.

She said that the necessary discussions have been held with the principals, and by Friday, parents will be provided with all the information regarding the programme and “where to turn up and what time to turn up”.

Troupe noted that the scheduling information is important in ensuring that the guidelines to minimise the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) are observed.

“We are in a pandemic and everybody can’t be in the space at the same time. So, we said two hours per day, so not everybody will be in the space for nine to 11 for example.

“So, there is going to be a timetable and all of that is being worked out at the school level based on numbers. On Friday, I can assure you, parents, that you will know where to go. Just listen out for the communique through your schools,” she advised.