The People’s National Party (PNP) is chiding the Government for what it dubs a “crisis in education”.
Schools are now in session and virtual learning is the new norm for students and teachers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there continues to be major technological impediments to the learning process, making it a rough start to the new school year.
According to Opposition on Education, Dr. Angela Brown Burke, the usual glitches were further exacerbated by the changes demanded by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She adds that the government has failed to fully prepare teachers and students for the reopening of schools and the systemic inequities in the education sector were ignored.
The Ministry of Education is continuing the distribution of digital devices across the country, the full roll out of which is not expected to be completed within the month.
Opposition on Science, Technology and Information, Julian Robinson says the programme should have started earlier.
Meanwhile, both Presidential aspirants, Lisa Hanna and Mark Golding commented on what the party calls a crisis.
Hanna says, “it’s time to get in focus and I really wish the Government would get off its PR campaigning for opportunities to take pictures just to show that they are actually doing something that is peripheral…”
Additionally, Golding is saying “there needs to be a more urgent response to this issue of bringing WiFi to the people, of bringing internet to the people, especially in densely populated areas. “
Golding adds that it is not beyond the Government to put a series of hotspots in a densely populated area.
Robian Williams reports for CVM LIVE:
