Turning now to news about the nation's schoolchildren… Easter break is finished - and many school children have returned to regular, in-class, face-to-face instruction.
At the beginning of April, the Education Ministry announced that - with almost all public health mandates relaxed - they are giving the green light for all schools countrywide to return to face-to-face learning. Mask wearing has been relaxed, but students, teachers, and the school staff members should still practice indoor mask-wearing, hand washing, sanitization, and monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms.
The Ministry is allowing schools the grace period of the rest of the current academic year to transition back to in-class instruction. But, all schools will be expected to return to pre-pandemic schedules for the 2022-2023 academic year. Here's what the Minister had to say about that gradual transition back to the classroom after 2 years of distance learning - where there was much learning loss:
Hon. Francis Fonseca - Minister of Education
"You know, we feel very good about the return to the classroom. What we had said was that the full return to the classroom would take place in August, for the new school year. But, of course, as you all know, we've said it ad nauseum. We've greenlighted - over 90% of our schools have been greenlighted to return for a face to face instruction in some form. It's still hybrid education, but it's been going very, very well. I can tell you it's been going very well. Just this morning I was at St Martin's Primary School on the south side of Belize City, visiting with the principal and teachers. And I had an opportunity to visit some of the students in their classrooms and they were telling me, I mean, the students were so excited about being back in the classroom. The challenge we have, now, two primary challenges. One, of course, is making sure that all those students who have not returned to the school, that we find them, that we engage with them and their families, and we get them back into the classroom. So, we're - I would that it varies from district to district. But I'm not satisfied that, you know, where we are ye with that. In some communities, there's still around 60% returning to the classroom. In other areas, it's up. In the north, for example, it's over 80%, or so. We have a lot of work to do in that regard, making sure that everybody feels safe and people understand and appreciate the importance and the urgency of getting their children back into the classroom. And then, of course, the second big issue is how we recover those lost years of learning. Our students have been effectively out of the classroom for two years. And so, we have specific plans aimed at addressing those gaps that have been created over the last two years."
