PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Education, Youth and Sports Rodolphe Samuel issued a call to the community to remain vigilant at all times as face to face in school resumed on November 19th.
The Minister said during the announcement at the weekly Council of Ministers press briefing that everyone wants to island to go back to normal as soon as possible however, the government must also safeguard the health and well-being of its people.
“Because the schools are part of the community and clusters of infections can occur in the community this means that infections can also happen in schools.”
The education continuity plan was drafted and based on that planned government has developed safety plans for the schools.
The Minister said after the vetting of the school's safety plans, those schools whose safety plans were found to be in order were inspected by a combined team of inspectors of Education and Healthcare.
During the months of October and November, the ministry followed up with a series of information pamphlets that went out via social media. This extra information is used to continue to inform parents, teachers, staff, and management not to let down their guard but to pay attention to the protocols of social distancing, handwashing, the wearing of masks, and others.
It is important to note that all public schools started with their feeding programs on the 19th October 2020. The students in the schools that are part of the food breakfast programs are taking care of the Minister said.