THERE are indications that Jamaican students are seeing some return to normality as a number of institutions push to have students back in the classroom five days per week, with guidance from the education ministry for a minimum of two days of face-to-face classes weekly.

Acting principal of William Knibb High in Trelawny Audrey Steele said that institution has been moving full throttle with physical classes five days per week as the administration believes that even the blended approach of face-to-face and virtual learning is ineffective.

“The children are excited to be back. They are coming five days per week because we do not think the online thing is working. Everybody is coming in everyday, but we are having a staggered approach where grades seven and nine and sixth formers come between 8:00 to 11:20 and the other starts 11:30 to 3:10. We think that is better than them being online because the online is not working,” she told the Jamaica Observer on Tuesday, pointing out that some students do not have any form of device nor Internet access.

Steele gave examples of students who have been completely off the grid since schools closed in March 2020 when Jamaica registered its first case of the novel coronavius.

“Some of them are coming for the first time, so we have to be placing them a grade back despite the age. It’s an unusual time. This morning a student came who should have been in grade 11, and we can’t put her in grade 11 because exams have already been paid for, so we have to put her back in grade 10. We have to help our students, that is the reality,” she said. There are also a number of students who transitioned to the institution from primary schools, but were never involved in virtual learning.

The acting principal said students, parents, and administrators alike are happy for the face-to-face contact, notwithstanding COVID-19 concerns. “The mood is one of excitement; everyday another new students turns up,” she remarked. She said the school is doing its best to manage the challenges as this is a better option than the virtual platform.

Head of the Jamaica Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (JAPSS) Linvern Wright said there are some challenges with physical distancing but, generally, principals are reporting that they are pleased with the return to face-to-face.

“The instructing is far more effective now, the parents are feeling much better, and I think students are also feeling much better. They are breathing a sigh of relief at the opportunity they have to give students a chance to learn in a more structured and focused way,” he said.

The education ministry had advised schools to meet with parents and other stakeholders to arrive at amicable arrangements which do not violate the health ministry’s recommendations. “So some schools are doing one full week with Group 1 and rotate for the next week with Group 2. Some opt for M, W, F one week and Tuesdays and Thursdays the next. At the primary level, if the population is below 120 and they can space students appropriately, they can be accommodated, but if there are more, there should be rotation,” the ministry said yesterday.

Principal of Hope Road-based Jamaica College, Wayne Robinson, advised that the school has been divided into four groups, with sixth and fifth formers who are doing exams engaged in face-to-face classes daily, then they split the rest of the school.

“There is a small group that always stays home because they have issues and there is a group that always comes to school because they have issues, meaning there are concerns that they have. For example, if you have cancer, you can’t come in and we have boys with cancer,” he explained.

Robinson further outlined that, as of this week, first and third form students are in on Mondays and Tuesdays, while second and fourth formers will be engaged from Wednesday to Friday. “So next week the second and fourth form will come in for the first two days and first and third form will come in for the last three days,” he said.

The principal said he will assess the face-to-face situation nationally, and make plans and changes accordingly.

“So right now we have about half of the students on the compound. It’s never perfect, it’s a working progress, but we can’t have any more learning loss, so we have to live through this,” he stated.

At St Catherine High School there is a similar story of relief for all stakeholders. Principal Marlon Campbell told the Observer, “The children are happy to be here, whenever they are on the premises they are really high-spirited. The mood on the campus is generally good.”

Campbell noted that parents are similarly pleased, but some are guarded, given the ever-present threat of COVID-19. He said the decision was taken to utilise a three-day-on, three-day-off approach, with students who are sitting exams always at school: “We have decided to do this because we want to have the children properly spaced, so when the grades seven and eight students are here, nine and ten are not here, but when they are not here they are being engaged online, so we have learning taking place every single day.”

Schools commenced the Easter term with a blended approach on January 3 on the condition that they meet certain COVID-19 safety protocols set out by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.