MINISTER of Education and Youth Fayval Williams says 954 of Jamaica’s 983 primary and high schools have been approved for reopening by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and urged all Jamaicans to support Government’s efforts to have children back in school.

She told the House of Representatives Tuesday that the green light for reopening means “there has been a physical reinspection of our schools for COVID and non-COVID issues”.

“Even as the COVID-19 virus is causing disruptions to learning, our students and our teachers are utilising all the modalities (online, audio-visual, learning kit and face-to-face) to ensure that the mental health of our children gets attention, and the academic progress of our students continue,” she said in an update on the conditions of the island’s schools as the Government increases its efforts to have resumption of face-to-face lessons in all its educational institutions.

She also disclosed that COVID-compliant schools have wash stations or sinks where the children have easy access to wash their hands; distance markers to make the students aware of how far apart to stand, or sit from each other; and an isolation room with its own bathroom facilities in the event a child shows up coughing or with a runny nose or fever, so that the child can be isolated until medical help arrives.

However, she admitted that based on a recent World Bank study for Jamaica, the fiscal impact (over and above what we are currently spending) to support the health and safety requirements for opening up the schools is going to be in the order of $2.4 – $3.9 billion annually for the next one to two years.

This includes the cost of re-enrolment campaigns and outreach activities, providing targeted support for the most at-risk students, mitigation and prevention of students dropping out, and facilitating remedial education to minimise learning loss.

She said that the World Bank concluded that the long-term cost of inaction is in the order of $828 billion, approximately 40 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP.

“Our efforts to reopen our schools for face-to-face have to be seen against the significant learning loss our children have been experiencing since March 2020, when they were required to be at home. Since then, they have only been able to come back to the physical classrooms for very short periods, not enough to make a significant impact on the learning loss,” Williams explained.

“As a result, we must do the best we can to keep our children safe as they travel from home to school, as they are in the classrooms, and as they return home. We seek the help of all Jamaicans but, in particular, the parents and guardians to help to keep our children safe. We are pleading with parents who have children in our primary schools — for whom there are no vaccines at this time in Jamaica for them — please seek to get yourselves vaccinated so you can provide protection for yourself and for your children,’ ” she urged the country.

“To the parents of high school students: Have a conversation with your children. Encourage them to take the vaccines.

“I give the same encouragement to all our principals, teachers, staff and all who work in the school environment and have to interact with our children: Help us to protect them so they have the opportunity to recovery they learning they have lost.

“We continue to appeal to everyone to wear their masks, wash their hands or sanitise frequently, and practise physical distancing. These protocols, together with the added layer of protection that vaccinations provide, are Jamaica’s best tools for significantly reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus, decreasing hospitalisations, and keeping our students into the face-to-face teaching and learning environment,” she said.

“To date, the figures show that approximately 34 per cent of our high school students have been vaccinated. This school year will have its fair share of new challenges ,but we are committed and determined to providing the best educational opportunities for all our children,” the minister said.