The Jamaican education system has innumerable problems: from low attendance, inconsistent attendance, hungry children, children with varying psychological problems to abused (in various forms) children, physically and mentally disabled children in classrooms that are not equipped or teachers that are not equipped to deal with them. The list of our problems in the education system keeps growing every day and Chikungunya has added such a major series of problems I hope that the Ministry of Education is taking steps to fix this or at least to cushion some of its repercussions. Let us examine what some of these might be:
- I visited some schools to offer my time to substitute for classroom teachers. Fact is, most schools had both teachers, administrative staff including principals missing days in the classroom some for as much as 2 weeks because they caught ChikV and could not manage to deliver themselves or their lessons in the classroom among such pain and ill-feeling. That means that every teacher who missed school is now behind on the already almost impossible to complete primary and high school curriculum mandated by the government.
- Children have also been absent due to ChikV and miss out on relevant informatoin delivered in their absence if their teacher were indeed fortunate enough to not have had the disease the same time they did.
- The effects of ChikV are far reaching and disabling, "Prolonged effects include arthritis and disabling joint pains"http://jis.gov.jm/tips/chikungunya-chik-fact-sheet/ Therefore, even when teachers and students do come back to the classroom, they most likely will not be performing at their full potential based on the after effects of ChickV, which from experience, can include; fever, rash, tiredness, pain, fatigue, stiffness in joints etc. which can last for up to five years.
- Dare I say that this year's (2014-2015) performance on both CXC's and the GSAT examinations are bound to be affected by this epidemic that overtook Jamaicans for the first time even though it has existed for years in the Caribbean region
What can the Education Minister do to address the plight of the students and teachers before exams and here and students who have been performing at top range for years end up with tragically low scores and parents start to rant and rave?
