Teachers firm against summer schools; no need for PEP students to attend
PUBLIC school teachers are adamant that they will not be forced to turn out for the Ministry of Education-managed national summer school programme, which is slated to begin next Monday.
President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Jasford Gabriel emphasised yesterday that teachers will be focusing on mentally preparing themselves for the start of the new school year in September. “The JTA is confirming that [the] school year officially closes on Friday, July 2. This is as per the Ministry of Education’s written stipulation. No teacher can therefore be mandated to report for duties during the summer break and prior to the start of the new school year”. Meanwhile, acting chief education officer, Dr Kasan Troupe told the
that PEP students will be informed next month, of their placements, and will therefore not be
Jamaica Observer able to participate in summer classes. “The summer programme is focused on addressing learning loss and gaps caused by the pandemic. As such, students will have access to learning opportunities to address the learning gaps/loss in preparation for more complex areas they will be exposed to in the new school year. This will take place in their current schools and through the online platforms to ensure the gaps are addressed before they are promoted to a higher class. The focus now is not to interact with the new curriculum but to address the gaps. Where students are ready to progress the programme will adjust accordingly,” said Dr Troupe. Dr Troupe advised that following the release of PEP results, schools will have the opportunity to organise orientation sessions in the last week of August to the first week of September, as most schools usually do, to aid the students in preparing for the new learning spaces. “Principals are aware of this. The pandemic demands some adjustments, and we have to pivot accordingly,” she stated. On Tuesday in the House of Representatives, Education Minister Fayval Williams announced the implementation of a national school learning intervention plan ‘Recover smarter’, which she said will take a bottom-up approach. She said this will begin with the development of school level plans, which are to be reviewed and approved at the regional level and supported through national technical and financial assistance. Opposition spokesperson for education Angela Browne Burke, meanwhile, renewed her call for greater collaboration between the ministry and stakeholders, including teachers. She urged also, for more to be done for students who were already at a severe disadvantage prior to the novel coronavirus pandemic, contending that the 120,000 students the ministry says schools have disengaged from the education system, over the past 18 months, are only a fraction of those who have not participated in any of the teaching modalities deployed by the ministry.