The Ministry of Education is launching a three-day training programme for teachers it wants to have on standby, should the need arise for additional teachers when the face-to-face teaching in classroom settings resumes.
Chief Education Officer Clare Browne said the training programme for approximately 50 pre-service teachers starts today and runs until Friday.
“We at the Ministry of Education are very watchful of two important figures: the number of active COVID cases in the country as well as the number of teachers who are in isolation or quarantine and those who remain unvaccinated. The government has given the various ministries the greenlight to hire staff even on a temporary basis and the Ministry of Education will not be caught flatfooted,” he declared.
With the Government’s mandate that all public sector employees must be vaccinated by October 1st, Browne said the ministry will be monitoring the situation up until Friday to see how many teachers decide to get vaccinated over the next several days.
According to the education official, the ministry wants to ensure that it does not short-change the nation’s student population, noting that there are currently two crises: the ongoing pandemic and a crisis in education.
“We can’t lose a generation because of the pandemic and its impact. We have a responsibility to prepare them for the world in which they have to exist in the future. We therefore encourage our teachers, staff at the school plants, and eligible students, to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Browne emphasized.
Based on the current situation in the country, the education ministry said it is guided by recommendations from the Ministry of Health about whether face-to-face learning returns on Monday or if it has to be further postponed.
Browne suggested that the most important consideration would be the recommendations from the Ministry of Health.
