The COVID-19 virus outbreak has disrupted education and displaced many students.

With primary school children unable to attend school and made to pivot to learning on digital platforms, their readiness to take Primary Exit Profile (PEP) exams and move to the next level of schooling has been affected.

Some parents are now opting to defer moving their children up a grade to ensure they are competent at the very least at 2020’s educational requirement levels.

“What the government is pushing is, sit in front of a computer and that will suffice. It will not. Many kids do not have appropriate digital equipment or internet access. Many have missed so many classes that they are beyond catching up. A rethink is needed here,” said Timothy Spaulding, a former teacher at Manchioneal Primary School in Portland.

“It is difficult to move to the next year if you have not sufficiently completed the prior year,” added child psychologist, Frieda Zaffa. “It leaves children ill-prepared and does them a disservice. Surely the Ministry of Education can see that? Primary school children shouldn’t be forced to sit exams that they are simply not ready for. It also places undue pressure on parents.”

It is well documented that Internet connectivity across the country is a problem and so too is acquiring devices. This puts a burden on the education system and sets back the development of all students who have been displaced since March of last year.

According to Sunil Kumar, of eLeaning Industry, “eLearning, being the latest wave of education is already having a fair show despite posing challenges for both instructors and students. While instructors need to put in intensive work and time to design the instruction students need to equip themselves with technical proficiency to decode course material.

“Switching from traditional classroom and face-to-face instructor training to computer-based training in a virtual classroom makes the learning experience difficult for students. Their resistance to change doesn’t allow them to adopt to the online learning environment, whereas it takes time for them to get accustomed to Course Management System (CMS) and the methods of computer-based education.”

Owen Speid, former president of the Jamaica Teachers’ Associaton and principal of Rosseau Primary School, has said that in many instances kids from Grade 5 are not ready to succeed at imminent exams with schools losing contact with many of them during this time of the coronavirus.

Many Jamaican children have not had adequate time to get familiar with curriculums and prepared for exams. Some principals are suggesting that PEP exams be pushed to a later date.