COVID-19: Some Barbados students to return to school June 8

Officials in Barbados say secondary schools will reopen from June 8 to allow students to complete their Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) School Based Assessments, and internal assessments for Caribbean vocational qualifications.

The Ministry of Education says it has been granted permission for secondary schools to reopen and all protocols will be in place to safeguard staff and students.

It said only those students who are contacted by their teachers will be required to attend school. Protocols for the safe reopening of schools have been devised and shared with all schools.

These protocols have been developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, teacher unions and principal associations.

Officers from the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Ministry of Education will be visiting secondary schools with other stakeholders between June 2 and June 5 to ensure that all agreed protocols are in place.

Similar visits will be made to primary schools before the scheduled return of some students on Monday, June 15.

School principals are expected to organize schedules for half-day sessions to minimise the number of persons on the school plant at any one time and also to allow for adequate sanitizing of classrooms.

Schools were closed in March as Barbados, like other Caribbean countries, implemented measures aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, that has killed more than 375,000 people and infected 6.2 million others worldwide.

The CXC has announced that its annual examinations will be held in July. -(CMC)