Despite these, she notes, educators are facing some unforeseen circumstances. Henry cites the resurgence of COVID-19, which not only threatens students’ learning, but health. Working alongside parents, she stresses, will address these concerns.
“There's a rise in covid. We do have a few guidelines that we had from day one with stakeholders. It's a matter of pulling it out, adapting it to the needs of each school, and communicating with the parents our expectations,” Henry told SNO. She stresses that parents need to collaborate with the school administration to ensure the safety of all students. “It's very important, reminding them as well. We need them to understand in order for it not to spread, if a child has flu-like symptoms, they need to know what to do. Sometimes they send them to school. The parents need to know what to do if their child is sick. The school and the home need to work together on this to lessen the number of children being sick and staying at home.” The rise in COVID-19 numbers was publicised by the Ministry of Health ahead of schools’ reopening. Parents are advised to keep their children home if they display flu-like symptoms.
Another concern of the NPA is school safety and security. A security consultant was hired by the government to conduct a security audit of schools on-island. This was done to be better able to identify the security needs of the various institutions. Henry says while strides have been made in addressing security concerns, there is still more to do. “There was a comprehensive review of school safety and security. So the safety aspect ensures the schools have an emergency plan, and carry out drills - at least two a term. Also, the children need to be aware of how to keep themselves safe and so on,” she explained. According to the NPA President, the schools have a good handle on the safety aspect.
“In terms of the security aspect. Persons who are watchmen - a lot of them do not carry out their duties diligently and we also have the issue of school break-ins. We have schools with cameras, but that is not a preventative measure. I think we need to look at preventative measures, in terms of securing our schools better.”
Education Minister Hon. Shawn Edward has hinted at the possibility of the government contracting the services of private security firms to provide adequate security for schools. In his back-to-school address, Edward announced that the government had expended over XCD 8-million towards educational assistance for students across the island.
