The Ministry of Education held a press conference on Wednesday to announce that schools would be closed today for COVID 19 concerns, but that students should take schoolwork home. Â
But, what happens when they get home? Many parents will struggle to find or pay for babysitting especially or young ones. And, as of tomorrow, daycare centers will also have to close.
So, will there be any kind of provision to help parents pay for babysitting? We asked the minister - he was not encouraging:
Jules Vasquez
"Will there be any thought of assisting parents who have to pay for day-care or babysitting for children who are out of school, while they need to remain at work for as long as they can?"
Hon. Patrick Faber - Minister of Education
"I think that is a question that is better posed to the economic zarfs who have over something like 50 million but there is certainly nothing in our plan in the Ministry of Education directly for that kind of thing but I am sure that it is a consideration that the wider government, that the task force that is to deal with the wider national issues of fighting against COVID 19, that they are taking into consideration."
We also asked about the PSE. It’s temporarily suspended with no make - up date announced, but we asked why not cancel it all together and save many children a whole lot of grief over a low grade:
Jules Vasquez
"Why not take this opportunity to eliminate one of the most punitive sanctions taken annually against children, which is the PSE, which is really an index of how you guys have failed and how the teachers have failed but we know the students are the ones who pay the bill."
Hon. Patrick Faber
"I don't want to say that I agree with all that you have said but we are considering our options are it related to the primary school exam this year and that is absolutely a consideration as to whether we will proceed with the exam at all. We're not at that stage just yet, if that is done then we will ask our secondary schools to take into consideration the last 3 years and how students perform in standard 4,5,6 as a kind of guide but again I repeat, we're not there yet."
The PSE was scheduled for March 30th and April 30th.
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