We , in this space, will continue to champion the cause of forward planning and evidence-based policymaking, as the benefits of such activities are unequivocal.

As we march towards the middle of the month of August, waiting in the wings is the start of the 2021/22 academic year.

While, understandably, much attention is being paid to the recent changes in the movement restrictions to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, there can be no doubt that the regulations and protocols to govern institutions of learning need to be established and communicated in short order — if not now.

The reopening of schools ought not to be a moving target, and good planning, and, indeed, common sense, dictate that the stakeholders at all levels — be they board of governors, administrators, teachers, parents, or the students — should all be seeing a clear path to the way in which they will function for at least the Christmas term.

We make no pronouncements here, but with 1,903 new novel coronavirus cases in the first eight days of this month, and signs of a third wave, no drastic downturn is expected in the 14 to 21 days left before September, especially as we await the numbers envisaged from the Emancipendence period of partying and jubilation.

Online tutelage is going nowhere. The expected scenario is that it will have at least 50 per cent presence in a hybrid method of instruction. But the team at the Ministry of Education (MOE) must lead the conversation.

The pages of the Jamaica Observer and the various opinion platforms are replete with calls for a return to face-to-face instruction as the primary mode. But things are clearly not falling in place to make this any sort of reality.

It is important, therefore, that everyone is confident that the process is being managed, and this requires planning and leadership.

Vaccinated or not, educators and administrators should by now be in full prep mode to welcome at least another term of online instruction. This requires tools and planning that cannot be put in place overnight.

The ministry’s Tablets in School programme had set a target of near 200,000 units to be distributed last year. But without even a true check on whether this target had been met, realistically how many of the tablets distributed still work? How many students who had no access to the Internet last year have had their circumstances changed for the better with parents’ unemployment and underemployment having worsened?

How many workshops have been successfully held to improve proficiency of pre-primary and primary educators, as well as the parents, to be able to better navigate the e-platforms?

How many students will not be advancing to a new grade, having not displayed near-mastery, and what has been put in place for them?

The starter should, by now, be at the ready for ‘September morning’, so the MOE team needs not delay in publicly setting the stage for the upcoming school year.

If they do not get the train ready to roll out of the station now, many of the memes making the rounds on learning loss, including the difference in the spelling of the word banana being based on whether it is green or ripe, may become the reality for a nation suffering from poor planning and execution.

A public education campaign may well be necessary, but at the very least the MOE needs to plan and communicate now to mitigate the worry and anxiety associated with every new school year.