Phillips supports resumption of classes, calls for preparedness
Published:Monday | June 8, 2020 | 2:08 PM
Leader of the Opposition Dr Peter Phillips says he supports the reopening of schools for students to prepare for upcoming external regional examinations.
At the same time, he has raised concerns about the preparedness of institutions for the new academic year in September amid the coronavirus ( COVID-19) crisis.
Phillips today visited the Tarrant High School and the Norman Manley High School in his East Central St Andrew constituency.
“Yes, I think our students need to get the opportunity not to lose out in the race for their own education, but we don’t need them to be put at risk. It is not a yes or no. It is a yes with conditions,” Phillips said.
“There are no arrangements in place yet, generally, for what is going to happen in September. We cannot afford to lose a generation…we are already facing a problem of massive inequality in the provision of education services.
“I want to urge the responsible authorities to get with the programme, and get with it quickly so that the students and the schools can be prepared for September and what’s going to happen,” he added.
Phillips is calling for more sanitisation activities across schools as well as counselling services for students amid fears brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need also, as is being done in the hotels, the spraying of the classroom and the surfaces. It won’t need $46 million like Ocho Rios, but certainly, there is need for more in the schools,” the opposition leader said, referring to the controversy over the St Ann Municipal Corporation spending millions to clean sections of the north coast resort town.
READ: More scrutiny on COVID clean-up
“The students seem apprehensive, some less so than some, but overall, we must understand that it hasn’t been easy for them,” the opposition leader continued.
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