‘We can’t afford to leave these students behind’

Barracks Road Primary appeals for help

WESTERN BUREAU:

DOZENS OF students and some school administrators in St James are appealing to stakeholders in the parish to help them to acquire tablets and secure Internet service as they are being left behind as classes progress online.

Among the affected schools is Barracks Road Primary in downtown Montego Bay, which has a large inner-city student population whose parents have limited financial resources.

Principal Maxine Coates-Brown told The Gleaner yesterday that hundreds of her students have been affected by the resource challenge.

“We have over 1,300 students attending

Barracks Road Primary ... [and] approximately 280 are on PATH,” said Coates-Brown, referring to the State’s Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education welfare initiative. “Many of our students are of poor socio-economic status, and their families find it hard to cope in these very uncertain and challenging times.”

The principal said that almost half of these students were now without a device to access classes forced online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is just sad that so many of our students are faced with such serious issues as it relates to having Internet connectivity and devices. We are now seeking to do a tablet and laptop drive for these needy students so as to assist them in maximising their learning output,” said Coates-Brown.

“Many of our students are from families that have one or no device to serve the number of students in the household, and we cannot afford to leave these students behind. Also, many of our teachers have Internet issues where they reside,”the principal continued.“These teachers were relying on coming to the institution to ensure that they would be able to reach out to their students. However, we are having serious challenges with the inconsistencies of the service provided by FLOW.”

Barracks Road Primary has been serving St James well since it came into existence in 1871, and Coates-Brown wants the school to continue that tradition and is appealing to the Government, corporate Jamaica, and citizens able to assist to make contact with the school.

One parent, who was laid off from his job in the hotel sector and now operates a ‘robot’ taxi to try make ends meet, told that he does not have Internet service at home and is struggling to come up with funds to buy his daughter a tablet.

“It is very hard to provide food and even pay bills, and I cannot stay home to homeschool my daughter,” he said, explaining added stress brought on by the COVID-19 crunch.