From Monday, print material for students to study and continue learning from home will be available at schools and Neighbour-hood Democratic Councils (NDC) nationwide.
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand told reporters on Friday that the worksheets would be distributed as of today and could be uplifted from the various NDCs and schools across the country starting Monday.
This study material is intended to help ensure that students stay on track with the curriculum for their respective grades. The minister said that with the blended approach to make sure every student continues learning while keeping schools closed is an initiative which needs to be explored.
As of September 14th, schools were reopened via online platforms along with the use of radio and television broadcasts, after being closed since March due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, for those students who are not able to access these platforms, particularly those in the hinterland and rural communities, the ministry promised to have print material delivered to their areas.
The minister noted that the printed material consists of both worksheets and notes for the four core subjects; Mathematics, English, Science and Social- Studies for grades 1 to 9, while grades 10, 11, and tertiary level will have additional subjects. Pre-school and nursery level students will be given equipment packages. Those packages are still being set up and will be delivered to the students in the weeks to come.
Manickchand also spoke about the online training for teachers, via ProFuturo. She explained that modules have been printed and are to be delivered to some teachers, but because it is a voluntary training, all teachers in need of modules haven’t yet been provided with one, but they will at some point. She added that teachers have been encouraged to take advantage of the programme.
According to Manickchand, the ministry hopes that parents will take up the responsibility of ensuring that their children attend their online classes, tune in to the various programmes set up for the different classes, and do their worksheets and have them sent to their teachers for marking.
Additionally, Manickchand noted that the learning channel has been revamped and the radio broadcasts and even newspapers have come onboard to print past papers. She said that currently the ministry is hoping to minimise the learning loss and while it’s aware that much time has already been lost, it’s not possible to accurately know what students know and what they don’t, as no diagnostic test could be done due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
The minister also urged parents to monitor their children’s attendance in online classes since there have been complaints by some teachers after the schools were officially reopened online. She pointed out that teachers could be seen complaining bitterly in the first week due to students being undisciplined and naming themselves “creative names” for their sessions online.
