DeFreitas calls out Ministry of Education, saying that students were sent home owing to lack of space on a school compound

After it was announced that full face-to-face learning would resume in all schools on Monday, March 14, Franz deFreitas says he cannot understand why a number of students were sent home.

DeFreitas, the United Progressive Party (UPP) Candidate for St. John’s City South, says he is certain that at least one school sent children home, with the excuse that there was not enough space on the school plant to accommodate the complete student body.

Accordingly, he is calling on the Ministry of Education to address this issue, since these schools were able to accommodate a full complement of teachers and students before the pandemic.

DeFreitas says the remote-learning platform has failed under the Browne Administration – which Daryl Matthew, the Education Minister, has admitted.

DeFreitas notes that the Education Act specifically states that all school-aged children must be afforded an education at the regular times of day in a regular school.  Therefore, he says, to do otherwise is contravening the Act.

Meanwhile, deFreitas is also asking the Education Ministry to hold talks with the Transport Board to ensure that students are picked up and dropped off in a timely manner.