Back to school

"We long to return to normal, but 'normal' led to this. To avert any future pandemics, we must grapple with all the ways 'normal' has failed us. We have to build something better." —

This week we have every reason to celebrate. After many months of silent hallways and empty classrooms, our schools have successfully reopened their doors full time to thousands of students, educators and workers.

The extensive preparation, investment and planning put into making school re-entry safe and welcoming is testament to the commitment, care and dedication of all staff at the Ministry for Education, from teachers to administrators to general workers and cleaners. I must also mention third party stakeholders, such as security personnel, transport workers and local councils that were crucial to the smooth transmission of our students from home to their school environment.

Enthusiasm

Over the past few days, I visited diverse schools and it was a wonderful experience to see the excitement and enthusiasm of our students and educators as they arrived ready for the new scholastic year. Despite the social distancing, masks and health regimes, it is obvious that the school environment is important for the wellbeing of our students and staff.

As Minister for Education, I am satisfied that the first day at school was a normal day with our children acclimatizing themselves to the school environment, engaging and connecting with each other, their teachers and staff. This is important and essential and augurs well for the successful learning and growth moving forward.

I would like to thank all persons involved, particularly parents and guardians for helping to prepare their children for the first day of school. This had a huge impact on helping make the occasion successful.

The importance of schools

It is now definite that time spent away from physical classrooms is detrimental, especially for young students because it could lead to diminished social skills and academic regression. There is also the issue of reduced access to critical services such as school meals and the identification of cases of child neglect and abuse. The return to school is therefore vital for our students’ holistic formation and wellbeing.

The successful reopening of the schools required plans and policies that support and prove the importance of well informed measures such as physical distancing, hand-hygiene, the use of masks and environmental cleaning. All this and more came about through extensive and continuous communication with the Superintendence of Health. We can assure everyone that our schools are safe and the measures taken are according to expertly-tailored protocols.

There is no excuse for not sending our children to school. Our classrooms have been carefully modified to increase social distancing and to ensure that our children are safe and at the same time social emphasis will be placed on social and emotional learning.

Catching up

Simply returning to how we were before the pandemic is not enough. The real challenge caused by the pandemic is the social issue of inequality. Studies show that disruptions to children’s education has brought home the need to devote serious attention and resources to improve, mitigate and correct longstanding inequalities in education systems that have been highlighted and exuberated during the pandemic.

As a government we are addressing these issues continuously. Labour’s belief in equity and its fight against inequalities are taken seriously. Over the years, we have invested heavily in education – the very beginning of all forms of progress at a national level.

During the worst months of the pandemic, reliance on online learning and connectivity to deliver education were addressed. Together with the dedication shown by most educators, we have counterbalanced in such a way as to ensure that there were the necessary resources and infrastructure to cater for all students, irrespective of their backgrounds or aptitude. Free internet for all students, laptops and many other incentives ensured that all students had the opportunity to learn and these will continue as need be.

Our priorities

Education, health and decent living are at the core of this government’s recovery plan. As a government we are prioritizing funding for public education and health.

Our priority as a government is not only to open schools and safeguard the health of our students and all involved, but to ensure that those who fell behind during the pandemic are able to catch up. Those who unfortunately left the education system need to be reintegrated or at least encouraged to further their education through courses and other means available to them.

We have to catch up with them, whether they are by now workers or still looking for a job. This is very important because in this day and age, education is a lifelong exercise without which our ability to thrive and improve our quality of life would not be possible.

We are the roots

A successful education system is like a tree. Above ground we see the trunk, the branches, a beautiful canopy of leaves and fruit. Below the surface, invisible to the naked eye, are the roots. They sustain, nourish, anchor and keep stable the whole tree from growth to maturity and beyond. The roots are us. Together as one cohesive force, the necessary changes that need to take place. We need to adapt our education system to new realities post-Covid through pathways that will take off on time. Our education system will adapt and continue to bear fruit in the years to come. It is up to us to collaborate, share ideas and pull one rope. After all, the wellbeing of our children is our top priority. They are the key to our success as a nation in the years to come.

Our generation will be judged on the way we have fully educated our children. Let us all embrace the old saying: “The country where education is valued not as a formality but as a pride of the nation, that country is never poor!”