Students at Enid Bennett High School in St. Catherine
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Reporter Jamaila Maitland and ACP Gary McKenzie, Commanding Officer for the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB)
Thousands of students are now in public schools across Jamaica on the first day of the full resumption of face-to-face classes.
The Ministry of Education says its various regions are reporting almost full resumption at infant, primary and secondary schools.
The ministry notes that some schools have asked for more time to get schools ready for the full resumption of face-to-face classes.
With more students coming out today (Monday), there was traffic congestion and crowds of commuters awaiting public transportation.
While the situation has now eased, bumper-to-bumper traffic was reported earlier on Spanish Town Road.
Radio Jamaica News visited schools in that area and found classes in session at Edwards Seaga Primary School. At Denham Town High, only a select number of grades have been allowed for in-person classes as online lessons continue for the rest of students.
Some principals have reported an overwhelming number of students returning to school, so much so that they had to secure additional desks and chairs at the last minute.
The school administrators say they will maintain strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols, despite the relaxation of the physical distancing guidelines.
Some schools have also asked parents to drop off and pick up their children on a phased basis to eliminate crowding.
Vendors and crossing wardens, in the meantime, have welcomed the return of face-to-face school since this is how many of them are able to learn a livelihood.
St. Elizabeth
A check at some schools in St. Elizabeth suggested that they were off to a smooth start.
However, some institutions are affected by a shortage of furniture despite efforts made in recent weeks to prepare for the full resumption of classes.
Students also had difficulty getting public transportation.
Traffic
Assistant Commissioner Gary McKenzie, Commanding Officer for the Public Safety and Traffic Enforcement Branch (PSTEB), has said next week will be the real test of the traffic management system as some schools across the country continued the blended teaching approach on Monday.
This modality is expected to continue for the remainder of the week.
ACP McKenzie says while some commuters were out earlier, this did not prevent a quick build up in traffic, especially in the Corporate Area.
He said teams from PSTEB were deployed to ensure ease of movement for commuters but there was not a "full force of students" so the situation was not as overwhelming as expected.
"So the encouragement really is for students, for parents, for guardians to look at what has happened today and certainly for the rest of this week, and see how best they can prepare," he advised.
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