BEMU On Face-To-Face Delay

As students and teachers await the next step, come Wednesday they will have to once again log on to virtual platforms. Face-to-face learning has still not resumed – thanks to the high COVID numbers.

The president of the Bahamas Educators Management Union says he’s hoping for a hybrid format by February.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, Bahamian students have fluctuated between virtual and in-person learning.

During the last term, from September 2021 to December 2021, all public school students across the country engaged only in virtual learning.

McPhee says he is of the belief that people need to act responsibly in order for the numbers to decrease and it is safer for students to get back to the classroom.

In November, Minister of Education Glenys Hanna-Martin said the non-participation in lessons by a large number of students was an “Emergency of Sorts”.

Hanna-Martin has on numerous occasions highlighted the urgency of getting students back in the classroom to address the significant gaps resulting from the virtual learning environment.

However, as a result of a sharp uptick in Covid cases, plans to begin the new school term this month in a hybrid system have been delayed, with the government announcing that all schools across the country will have to use a virtual system.

McPhee says the news did not come as a shock as the minister of education has been keeping the unions well informed and consulted on their views on the matter.

Meantime, Bahamas Union of Teachers president, Belinda Wilson, has said she too understands the need to delay face-to-face learning; However, she continues to point out longstanding issues with students and teachers being unable to access virtual learning platforms must be addressed.