By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Glenys Hanna Martin said face-to-face learning, which resumes in public schools across the country today, is necessary and can no longer be delayed as officials fight to address the “emergency” that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the education system.

Her comments during a national address last night came as rumours spread that the Bahamas Union of Teachers (BUT) will lead educators on industrial action today in protest of the resumption of face-to-face learning.

BUT President Belinda Wilson could not be reached yesterday, but sources have told The Tribune that the union has complained that the resumption of in-person learning has come at short notice.

 Last night, Mrs Hanna Martin appeared to address this complaint, saying even though the reopening of schools was postponed by two weeks, she, Health Minister Dr Michael Darville and Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis have made it clear that they did not anticipate a lengthy delay.

 “The last two years have seen unrelenting disruptions in education,” she said. “The fully virtual learning experience has proven to be difficult for students, teachers and parents alike, for a variety of reasons. This has been especially so for children with special needs and children from lower economic communities. We also know that thousands of children have fully fallen off the radar having been absent from school for two years. These children span the range of pre-school to grade 12. Where are these children now? And what will be their fate? We are in an emergency.”

 Mrs Hanna Martin said education officials have worked with the Ministry of Health to ensure there are adequate campus protocols, “inclusive of the reduction in the number of students allowed on campus at any given time, mandatory mask wearing, ventilation, including maximised use of outdoors, mandatory social distancing, continuous observation and isolation where necessary.”

 She added: “This first week, commencing, January 24, has been deemed a transitional week allowing each individual school administration, teachers, students and parents to reacclimatise to face-to-face instruction. In the first phase children who do not have uniforms are free to come to school appropriately dressed. Going forward, we will work closely with the Ministry of Social Services to ensure that children needing assistance are able to access (the) same in an efficient manner.”

 Nonetheless, she said the Ministry of Works’ recent discoveries at TA Thompson Jr High School and Uriah McPhee Primary School will require that in the short term some students will have to remain in virtual learning.

 Mrs Hanna Martin said the ministry will incorporate diagnostic testing of every child to ascertain the extent of learning loss.

 “A learning recovery committee has been established by the ministry to provide recommendations and develop strategies for appropriate responses and learning recovery programmes, based on the extent of learning loss of each child,” she said. “These programmes will focus primarily on the foundations of literacy and numeracy. This emergency is also an opportunity to redress the many long-standing deficiencies in our education system.”

She said the ministry has established a task force which will identify all of the children who have been missing from school for extended periods, “physically find these children and facilitate appropriate interventions to address learning loss and accelerate learning.”

 “For older children, this may require engagement with tertiary institutions for special programmes,” she said. “That task force comprises education professionals, including special education, school psychological services, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, Office of the Attorney General, The Bahamas Christian Council, Ministry of Health and Wellness, BYVI, NTA, representatives of the Bahamas Educators Managerial Union, Bahamas Union of Teachers, Bahamas Education Counsellors and Allied Workers Union. The launch of its work commenced several days ago in the Freetown Community and will shortly spread out nationwide. We have tasked ourselves to complete the identification of and intervention for these children in the shortest possible time.”

 She said: “My brothers and sisters - our children must be all that they can be. This is not about me. This is about the children. This is about the next generation. I know that many parents are anxious and even worried about what the future holds for their children. We must partner to ensure that your children are given the best opportunity possible. We pledge to do all that we can to achieve positive and even outstanding results for your children.”