‘What about us?’
Principal, parent say children missing out on education in Bog Hole
THE FORMAL school system has been closed since early March, with students receiving their lessons via various platforms such as Google Classroom, Zoom and What’sApp.
However, children in the northern Clarendon community of Bog Hole have been missing out on continuing their education, because they are faced with inconsistent Internet connection, and even when it’s up, their parents can hardly afford the data charges to enable the lessons to be downloaded on their phones.
Principal of Anderson Town Basic School, Diandra Rose, said some of her children have not had classes since March.
She admits to sending lessons to them via WhatsApp, but has received no responses to date, a confirmation that they did not access them.
“It is a challenge. Some of the parents don’t have it, and for those who top up their phones, the service is problematic,” she told The Gleaner.
GREAT CONCERNS
Rose said she has great concerns for her students as come September, those who did not have access to the lessons will be at a greater disadvantage and will have a lot of catching up to do. She is also concerned that there is no system in place for those age groups.
Dinieca Copeland, who has two children in high school and one in primary school, said none of them have got any schoolwork since March.
“The high school gives lessons through Google Classroom and it’s not downloading on my phone. This could be attributed to the poor Internet service,” she shared, adding that as an alternative, she urges her children to use their textbooks and try to do as much as they can without a teacher.
“They have to go back to school September, and my fear is that they might have to repeat the grade as they missed out on so much,” she said.
Copeland said her children feel bad about the situation and are already worried about September when they will be assessed.