Students at Dunoon Park Technical High School who are preparing to sit exit exams returned to school on Monday.
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Education Minister Fayval Williams and Principal of St. George's College Margaret Campbell
The Ministry of Education is considering mandatory summer school to address the learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Education Minister Fayval Williams made the disclosure on Monday following the resumption of face-to-face classes for students preparing for exit exams.
The minister said while the details were not yet "fully agreed...we have to do all that we can to recover from what we've lost during the pandemic."
More than 500 schools reopened on Monday. The students who returned will shortly sit the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) Ability Test, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE), as well as City and Guilds and the National Vocational Qualification – Jamaica (NVQ-J).
When Radio Jamaica News visited Dunoon Park Technical High School on Monday, Principal Shawn Aarons, said only 50 per cent of the exam students were in attendance.
He explained that some students were engaged in online classes because one of the teachers was unable to attend physically.
At St. George's College, Principal Margaret Campbell, said only students who are completing School Based Assessments (SBAs) and undergoing internal assessments will attend physical classes this week.
But the school plans "to bring in more students depending on the needs" next week, after an assessment is carried out.
Teachers pressured to take vaccine?
In the meantime, the Education Minister has said an investigation will be carried out into reports from the Jamaica Teachers' Association that some teachers are being pressured by school administrators to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
She said while she has not heard of those reports, she will find out from the Chief Education Officer whether any such complaints have come to the ministry.
"I know that no one can be forced to take the vaccination as of this moment in time," she noted.
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