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Optimistic teachers at Clifton Basic set sail for new school year

October 2020

Gordon Webster, general manager of technology and eChannels at Hardware & Lumber Limited, talks with Sharon Byfield, principal at Clifton Basic School in Bernard Lodge, Portmore, about how her school is making the transition to remote learning during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo: Keon Predi)

Not only has the most recent wave of COVID-19 rocked the Jamaican education system, it has also forced some educators to confront the fact that not all schools are in the same boat.

While those with access to sufficient resources are slowly managing to chart their way through this new normal, many smaller schools, especially those in the early childhood sector, are at grave risk of capsizing.

For Sharon Byfield, principal of Clifton Basic School in Portmore, the Ministry of Education's stance prohibiting face-to-face instruction means that her school will be facing rough seas this semester.

“Many people might think that being a small school means that we have it easier than most with supporting e-learning, but that is far from the truth,” shared Byfield. “Yes, we only have three teachers and around 30 students, but you have to understand that almost all of our students are from very low-income homes in and around the community. This means that only a fraction of them can afford to pay their school fees, especially when COVID-19 has left so many parents without work. If it weren't for sacrifices made by our teachers, support from donors, and the Early Childhood Commission, our school wouldn't stand a fighting chance.”

With increasing emphasis being placed on remote learning, Clifton Basic is among those schools struggling with the additional costs that come with limited access to digital solutions.

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