EDUCATION RECOVERY UNDERWAY: 800 absentee students returned to classrooms; another 4500 to go – EyeWitness News

Ministry of Education urging parents to bring their students back to school11% of public school enrollment still has not accessed learning platform

NASSAU, BAHAMAS More than 800 public school students who were missing from classes throughout the pandemic have been located as the education recovery task force continues its work to close the education gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Education Research and Planning section initially identified 8,000 students who were inactive on the virtual learning platform.

These included both high school and primary school students.

There were concerns among educators and government officials that those students would fall through the cracks and it would remain challenging to get them back on course.

The lists of names were sent schools, which then cross-referenced whether those students had been active on other platforms being used by teachers.

Additionally, some students did not have access to electricity, the internet or devices but who were picking up physical materials directly from the school, which was also cross-referenced.

Once those students were identified, the number of students unaccounted for was cut down by half.

As of the week of January 17, the Ministry of Education could not account for some 4,513 students, which represents some 11 percent of public school enrollment.

The Ministry of Education Research and Planning task force identified and located 843 of those 4,000 students, went to their homes and spoke to their parents to find out the issues.

The group then provided recommendations, follow-up actions and additional support through agencies such as the Department of Social Services.

Some students also returned to school when face-to-face learning was restarted this year. The number of such students isstill being compiled by the Ministry of Educations Research and Planning section.

The first walkabout conducted by the task force occurred in Freetown, which saw the highest percentage of students missing from school with 19 percent of students missing during the pandemic.

The southern New Providence district, which includes schools such as Anatol Rodgers, CV Bethel and AF Adderley, also saw large numbers of students missing.

With schools continually updating their data with the ministry, the expectation is for those numbers to continue to dwindle.

Once students are identified and return to the classroom, they will be given a diagnostic review for education officials and teachers to understand the extent of learning loss from being out of school.

The ministry is also compiling data on students who were scheduled to graduate during that time period to provide assistance on additional options at the Bahamas Technical and Vocational Institute (BTVI) and the National Training Agency (NTA).

While the task forces work continues, the Ministry of Education is urging parents who may have students who have not attended virtual classes or have not been registered to bring them in no matter the problems they may be having.

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EDUCATION RECOVERY UNDERWAY: 800 absentee students returned to classrooms; another 4500 to go - EyeWitness News