THE Ministry of Education has started planning for the re-opening of schools in September.
Education Minister Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly and Minister in the Ministry Lisa Morris-Julien, along with other executive directors met with education stakeholders on Monday to discuss the draft Reopening Guidelines for Academic Year 2021/22.
A release on Monday stated that the associations attending the meeting included: the Private Special Schools Association of T&T,Private Secondary Schools, Principals of Assisted Secondary Schools, Denominational Boards (3 representatives , including the Catholic and Presbyterian Boards), Private Primary Schools, National Parent Teacher Association, Principals of Public Secondary Schools and the Secretary of Education, Innovation and Energy, Tobago House of Assembly (THA).
The ministry stated, “The MOE thanks all stakeholders for their thoughtful input and valuable, wide-ranging recommendations, which included specific considerations for filling staffing vacancies, close supervision of students and the need for facile access to substitute teachers, vaccination of older students and all non-teaching staff, isolation for infants from students in higher classes, provision of adequate cleaning supplies and masks to schools, prioritisation of attendance for examination students, clarity and standardisation in the classification of flu-like symptoms, additional data-entry support for schools and increased support services for students, parents and teachers.”
Missing from the meeting was the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) which instead on via online streaming on Facebook, the release stated.
The ministry stated that it was looking forward to TTUTA’s attendance at another meetings on Tuesday and Friday.
Schools have been closed since March last year when T&T recorded its first case of the Covid-19.
