Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Premier inspires: This will be the best school year ever!

Premier inspires: This will be the best school year ever!

“I declare that this school year will be the best school year ever, in the BVI!” This was the declaration made by Premier Andrew Fahie, as he encouraged students and teachers to deliver their best work throughout this academic year despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Premier was speaking at the annual back-to-school church service, held Sunday, September 20. The ceremony was physically attended by few speakers, performers and government leaders, but virtually, some seven thousand viewers attended to seek God’s guidance for the year ahead.

Referring to the famous Bible verse, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Premier Fahie urged parents and teachers to focus on the positive things the COVID-19 pandemic has brought.

“The truth of the matter is COVID-19 has taught all of us that we can get more things done in a different way if we only believe. You’re gonna have troubles this term but the troubles are not for you to give up, the troubles are for you to persevere because you can do all things through Christ,” Fahie said.

Put it in God’s Hands


The 2020/2021 school year will be unlike any students and parents around the world have ever seen.

For students, virtual learning will be as prominent as in-person learning while parents will be forced to become assistant teachers while their children learn from home.

In the BVI, parents are no different from those in other countries, facing job losses, economic uncertainty and the added task of assisting with the formal education of their children.

Education Minister Dr Natalio Wheatley highlighted some of the challenges facing many BVI parents as they prepare to send their children back to school.

“We have parents out there, they don’t have somebody to watch their children, some lost their jobs, they don’t have money to buy textbooks, worried about buying school uniforms. The parents, with so much anxiety and so much worry, I’m saying put it in God’s hands,” Dr Wheatley said.

He also urged the educators to look beyond the problems within the education system and put them “in God’s hands”.

“As a Minister, I don’t even pretend to have all the answers. I know sometimes it seems like an impossible task. All the problems we have with space in the schools, we don’t have enough devices, we don’t have the internet access. We just have to put those things in God’s hands and He will make a way.”

He continued: “I’ll say to the principals as well — all of the challenges we have in the school system, all the challenges we have among our teachers and students; maybe there’s some maintenance that needs to be done in schools … we just have to put it in God’s hands.”

On September 18, the government approved the reopening of all private schools, daycare centres, pre-schools and colleges, once they’ve been inspected by the Social Distance Monitoring Task Force and approved by the Ministry of Education.

Some public school students, namely technical education students, students with special needs, marginalised students, and adult education students have also been approved to attend in-person classes.

The Chief Education Officer will decide on the students that fall into these categories.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×