Schools In Barbados To Re-Open On June 8

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 4, 2020 (CMC) – Education authorities in Barbados have announced that secondary schools will reopen, from June 8, to allow students to complete their Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), School Based Assessments (SBA) and Internal Assessments for Caribbean Vocational Qualifications (CVQs).

The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT) said it had been granted permission for secondary schools to re-open, and all protocols will be in place, to safeguard staff and students.

It said only those students, who are contacted by their teachers, will be required to attend school; and protocols for the safe reopening of schools have been devised and shared with all schools.

These protocols, it added, have been developed, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Teacher Unions and Principal Associations.

The statement said that officers from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training will be visiting secondary schools, with other stakeholders, between June 2 and June 5, to ensure that all agreed protocols are in place.

Similar visits will be made to primary schools, before the scheduled return of Class Four students on Monday, June 15.

“For these sessions, secondary school principals are expected to organize schedules for half-day sessions, to minimize the number of persons on the school plant, at any one time, and also to allow for adequate sanitizing of classrooms.”

Schools were closed in March, as Barbados, like other Caribbean countries, implemented measures, aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

The CXC has since announced that its annual examinations will be held in July.