School principals on the island have been asked to take a bow because of their efforts during COVID-19 when schools were closed and school staff had to resort to teachers facilitating virtual learning for their students.
The principals’ attempts to help continue the education of the children despite the pandemic were lauded by Minister Octavia Alfred.
Her remarks came as she addressed principals at the Dominica Public Service Union (DPSU) building before the opening of school slated for September 7, 2020.
“Like last year, we are well aware, that this academic year will be a challenge but you have the full support of my ministry in the effective execution of your duties. But if we continue to work collaboratively as we have done in the past, we will certainly overcome our hurdles together,” she said.
The Education Minister indicated that she was satisfied with the guideline and protocols developed for the reopening of the 2020/21 academic school year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I want to thank the officers of the Ministry of Education who developed the protocol for the reopening of schools. It is a concise and well put together document that I believe can be put to effective use in schools to help keep our children safe. We expect all schools to keep to the guidelines,” Alfred stated.
According to the Education Minister, Monday’s meeting was an important occasion because, with every passing year, it becomes important to ensure that everyone is on the same page as they grapple with the challenges facing the school system.
“It is no secret that we have faced some major challenges in the past six months that tested our resilience and called for the deepest level of commitment to the success of the children entrusted in our care. You will agree that we must address these together moving forward.”
She acknowledged that over the past six months principals have demonstrated exceptional leadership and showed that they are up to the task since they recognized that the education system was working on “new and unfamiliar circumstances but relied impressively on what we could do for ourselves.”
“We rallied together to organize online learning, to organize learning packages, to keep students engaged and secure the well-being of the teaching staff. You have my deepest commendation and gratitude for keeping the education system afloat amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” Alfred remarked.
She was of the view that the crisis in education brought about by COVID-19 stimulated creativity and allowed principals and teachers to develop innovative approaches to ensure continuity.
“Importantly, I think that COVID-19 highlighted that the future of learning is very dynamic and that there will be rapid and advance moods of delivering quality education,” she said.
However,  Alfred warned that in all of this, there will be the requirement to consider the needs of all children who are affected by lack of resources or an enabling environment to access learning, reminding that some are early learners and some have special needs which are physical or physiological.