Mt Providence students in danger of missing out due to absent devices

Cecelia Campbell-Livingston/Gleaner Writer

There is concern that some students at Mount Providence Primary and Infant in Clarendon will be left behind as they lack devices to engage in distance learning.

The new school year began on Monday.

Principal Tresha Sinclair-Campbell says the parents of these students are in need.

“The most I can do is to make arrangements to get the [school] work to them and thankfully the Ministry of Education has opened up the platforms where they can access lessons,” Sinclair-Campbell told The Gleaner.

She said that getting devices to students is critical as it would put them in a better position to learn.

Commenting on the community's reality, Campbell said many parents have been hit hard in the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving families in harsh conditions.  

“It is a vicious cycle and we know that we cannot help all of them to get tablets, but if we can get four or five or six they would go a long way.”

Campbell said it breaks her heart to know that some students will be missing out on their education.

Still, she is expressing gratitude for the extra effort the Ministry of Education is making to take lessons to the rural areas.

“If they can't access it online or digitally, then if they have a 'rabbit ears' television then the portal will also be opened to them,” she shared.

The only drawback, Campbell noted, is that not all students are able to learn without a tutor, where they can ask questions on the spot during the lesson.

Campbell shared that for the new school year she was looking forward to the return of face-to-face classes, but the surge in the virus cases has shattered those plans.

“But for now…we need them [devices] and my prayer is that some Good Samaritan will come on board and help them…I am hopeful that hearts will be touched to answer these parents' prayers,” she said.

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