By Theresa Goodwin
Work continues in the education sector to make up for the shortfalls brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic which caused severe disruption to the teaching and learning process.
Deputy Director of Education Ezra Jonah Greene said the ministry has been working along with teachers and other partners to rectify some of the gaps through the introduction of initiatives to help children who require one-on-one sessions.
One such initiative is the summer programme, which she said will be re-introduced at the end of the current term in June.
“We have already started to do some group work to identify which are the critical areas to work on. If we are going to ensure that the most vulnerable in our midst receive the best possible dividends, we have to first identify who those persons are.
“We then have to come up with a plan to support those individuals, so that is what we are doing through our summer programme,” said Greene.
She added that prior to the launch of the programme, educators in the various learning institutions will do a pre-test to identify students who are most in need. Immediately after, another test will be done to determine what has been achieved.
The current term saw the return of the Grades 2, 4, and 6 assessments which Greene said will also be used as a guide to help education officials chart the way forward.
“We will come up with a plan as to how we can mitigate against those weaknesses to ensure that our students are taken to the next level,” she said.
Greene added that while it may be a slow process to get back to a pre-Covid state, the ministry is committed to the task with the support of all key players within the sector.