THE Ministry of Education has announced that Grades 10, 11 and 12 students will return to face-to-face learning during this month.
This announcement follows a statement by the ministry in September that secondary schools will be re-opened based on the rollout of the vaccination programme for children aged 12 to 17 years.

“There will not be one fixed date for the reopening of all secondary schools, since it is being done according to the vaccination programme,” the Education Ministry said.

The advice received from the Ministry of Health is that those students who were vaccinated should be given the time to be fully inoculated before entering the school environment.

Since students of the various secondary schools received their first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine on different dates, their reopening dates will also differ.

For an adolescent to be deemed fully vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, they must receive two doses 21-28 days apart, with an additional 10 days after the second dose to be fully protected.

This would mean that the different secondary schools will return to face-to-face instruction on different dates.

An example of this would be students of Queen’s College, St. Rose’s High School and the Bishops’ High School who received their first dose on September 1, 2021. Those students were administered their second dose on September 22, 2021. Therefore, these schools will be reopened on a date not earlier than 10 days following September 22, 2021.

Each secondary school will be informed of their respective reopening dates. The Ministry of Health has also advised that only students of these three grades at the secondary level should be allowed back into school for face-to-face learning.
Grades Seven to Nine will not be reopened physically at this time. As it relates to the other levels, the plans that were previously announced stand, without variation.

Schools will be reopened, based on the individualised programme established by the respective schools to facilitate face-to-face engagement.
All COVID-19 protocols, such as wearing masks, washing or sanitising hands, and being socially distanced will be observed.

“It must be noted that children who are not vaccinated will not be prevented from entering their school for instruction.

However, we encourage as many parents as possible to consent for their children aged 12 to 17 to receive the vaccine, which will serve to protect them from the effects of COVID-19,” the Education Minister said, adding: “We also encourage our parents and teachers who have not yet been vaccinated to get vaccinated, so that we can protect each other.”