PHILIPSBURG–Books, pens and learning will be the order of the day as thousands of students and teachers get out of vacation mood and return to the classroom for the first day of the new academic year.
As is usual, the roads are expected to be a buzz of activity as parents and guardians take their children to school. Many youngsters will be entering a new school, most will start a new class with a new teacher and some will be repeating.
While most schools are expected to be ready for the new school year, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (ECYS) Wycliffe Smith had sounded the alarm recently about a possible shortage of 40 teachers at both the primary and secondary levels. The minister said later that a number of applications had been received and the teacher shortage was expected to have been lowered, but the exact figure could not be ascertained.
Some teachers are starting the new year unhappy. Those from the Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education (PSVE) section of St. Maarten Academy, for example, are not happy that the Foundation for Vocational and Academic Education (FAVE) has not heeded their calls to reassign principal of the school Lavern Nelson.
Some schools are also still undergoing rebuilding works from the destruction inflicted by hurricane Irma last year and have made alternative arrangements to educate their students. The academic section of St. Maarten Academy for example, is still rebuilding and as a result classes will continue to be held at the school’s PSVE section.
Motorists are urged to be cautious when using the roadways and keep an extra eye out for school children particularly in school areas.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/79494-thousands-return-to-school-today
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