The Director of Education, the President of the Antigua Barbuda Union of Teachers (ABUT) and his General Secretary were invited to address the issue of school plants’ security, and the security of teachers and of students. School will open for teachers on the 29th of August and on the 5th of September for students. Every step is being taken to ensure that every school has an adequate number of teachers and that the school plant is ready to receive the inflow of students.
i. The Director reported that thieves steal anything and everything after they have broken into the school plants. While the Ministry of works is responsible for school security, it is not possible to have human security present in numbers at each school daily for 24 hours; hence, there is a plan to ensure that the new technology is deployed to secure all school plants and their valuables 24 hours a day. The construction of strong rooms, likened to a bank vault, is contemplated for storage of valuables. Officials from the ABUT, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Works will meet to discuss a reasonable alternative. It was also agreed that dark areas on the school plants will be lit;the ABUT and the staff will help to determine how many and where lights are needed on the school compounds. All schools are also to be fenced so that access in and out of the school plant can be monitored.
ii. The Minister of Health reminded that COVID-19 has been greatly reduced in its ability to spread; in any event, masks remain optional in classrooms but encouraged.