Message from the Minister of Education
I pray that you and your families are safe and healthy as you read this correspondence.
Thank you so much for your patience and understanding as we have been adjusting, like you, to the drastic changes brought about by COVID 19.
Since the mandatory lockdown on March 27th, 2020, schools throughout the Turks and Caicos Islands have been using a variety of online platforms to deliver lessons to students while they are at home and I encourage you as much as possible to ensure that your child logs on and participates in the online sessions. It is imperative that 4th and 5th Formers make every effort to join the online classes, especially considering that their attendance is a requirement for graduation.
We are in the process of developing a set of minimum guidelines for online teaching in order to ensure consistency in teaching from online platforms across all schools. These guidelines may require teachers to teach from their classrooms due to limited internet access at home. I use this opportunity to encourage teachers in the private schools to make use of the free online platforms such as Google Classroom and video conferencing tools such as Zoom in the delivery of their lessons.
While it is our responsibility to continue to educate our children, we also want to compassionately take into consideration the variety of difficulties that families and employees are enduring at this time. As a result, the Ministry of Education continues to negotiate with both telecommunication companies in an effort to provide electronic devices (tablets, laptops and mifi devices) and data packages at reasonable cost for students.
With the easing of day-time restrictions, parents are free to move around and visit stores. We know that financial resources may be limited at this time, but we wish to encourage all parents to make an extra effort to make the investment in their children and purchase an electronic device (tablet or mifi device) to permit the continued learning of their children during this period.
I am extremely appreciative of our students, teachers, administrators, parents and stakeholders for their positivity, flexibility and resilience during these trying times.
As you may be aware, distance learning for schools will continue until May 31st, 2020. During this time, all public schools will be deep cleaned in anticipation of a possible return to regular schooling. Of course, any decision to return to regular schooling will be based on advice provided by the Ministry of Health and ample notification will be given to the public.
The goal of the Ministry of Education is to provide continuous educational opportunities and experiences for students while the physical schools are closed. As much as possible, it is also our desire to mitigate stress for students, parents, and teachers, hence, I encourage you to contact the Ministry of Education if you require support or guidance.
In closing, I would like to remind you of our theme for the 2019-2020 academic school year: ‘Building a Resilient and Inclusive Education System’. Little did we know how relevant this theme would have been to the current situation brought on by COVID 19, however, I believe we all will definitely be more resilient having passed through the COVID-19 Pandemic!
History is being written! We hold the pen! Together, we will write the BEST stories for our children!
Stay strong, stay healthy and continue to practice social distancing.
ENDS