The new school term begins on Wednesday and will continue online due to the threats of COVID-19 in the country. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Chandler Hyacinth, said the authorities are preparing for online and classroom teaching models for students. She encouraged everyone to get vaccinated so that the country can return to full classroom teaching.
PM Roosevelt Skerrit said he is aware of the challenges posed by strict online learning, but added that this is a necessary step to take given the omicron coronavirus variant in Dominica. He acknowledged the difficulties faced by parents, teachers, and teachers in adopting Internet learning, and stated that the nation will transit to a face-to-face learning model when the threat of the pandemic is over.
Meanwhile, many teachers complain that they do not have the digital devices with which to teach students online. They complained that the government gave tablets to students to run online learning, but teachers were not given the devices to enable them teach students.
President of the Dominica Association of Teachers (DAT), Mervin Alexander, said many teachers have filed complaints that they find it difficult to run online instructions in the absence of suitable digital resources. He said some teachers have to make do with Chromebooks to be able to teach students online.
Alexander revealed that the Education Act of Dominica provides that teachers be fully equipped with necessary resources to carry out their functions, but this has not been the case. He lamented that public employees in other sectors are equipped with the tools to carry out their duties, but teachers lack personal tablets and laptops among other things to teach students while the pandemic rages.
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