Speaking in the House of Assembly on Thursday, December 1, Education Minister Dr Natalio Wheatley said that some schools are expected to experience scheduling adjustments to face-to-face classes as the territory continues to coexist within the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said parents should expect communication on these adjustments from principals of the respective schools shortly.

“Let me mention the Elmore Stoutt Junior High School. Classes will be held online for the first week from the 4th to the 8th of January. By the second week, students will be given a schedule for on-campus contact sessions. This information will be communicated to parents via email. Parents are asked to check emails for the schedules,” Dr Wheatley stated.

He added: “The junior school population is currently 779 students, so because of the numbers and the on-campus requirements for social distancing, students will still have the majority of classes online. Contact hours with students on campus will be used to cover content in math, english, and technical subjects.”

Update on infrastructure works to schools

Dr Wheatley also gave an update on some of the infrastructural works being conducted at some of the schools across the territory.

One such institution where infrastructural works have been ongoing is the Bregado Flax Educational Center on Virgin Gorda.

“As a result of the construction, the number of students on the campuses for both the primary and secondary division have been limited to the technical students, special education and marginalised groups. We hope to have this project completed early next year 2021,” he explained.

“For the Ivan Dawson Primary School, infrastructure works and campus cleaning should begin shortly and this should alleviate the issues of unhealthy air quality and mould build-up that is especially high at this school. In the meantime, in order to ensure that students have some classroom instructional time, the ministry is seeking to use the Cane Garden Bay Baptist Church hall for classes for the upcoming term,” the Education Minister added.

Budget allocation to fix issues in all schools

Dr Wheatley further said the recent funds from the 2021 budget which was allocated for maintenance to public schools, will be utilised to fix infrastructural issues in all schools.

Due to the process expected to take a long period before completion, the Deputy Premier is asking all parents and members of the community to be patient while the works are being finalised.