As both vaccinated and unvaccinated students in Forms 4 to 6 restarted in-person classes yesterday, one parent has threatened to sue the Ministry of Education over the safety of her child.
“It have vaccinated and unvaccinated children going to school together, which is ridiculous. I know three children already who have been vaccinated and they have gotten the COVID, so I am worried for my child.”
The mother said she will be holding the Ministry of Education responsible if her daughter contracts the virus.
“I am desperately worried for my child and if anything happens to my child, I am going to sue the ministry because this is ridiculous and it is careless.”
Another parent, Indra Wattee Mahabir, whose daughter attends Debe Secondary School, expressed similar concerns.
“I am very concerned. My child is fully vaccinated but at the same time, I have known people who have passed with COVID. They have taken all the precautions, everything that you are supposed to do was done and they are not here today, so yes I am concerned.”
An unidentified mother hugs her daughter before she enters ASJA Girls Collage in San Fernando on the first day of full classes for forms four to six students, yesterday.
RISHI RAGOONATH
However, Jairam Seeram remained positive after dropping off his child at Parvati Girls’ Hindu College in Debe.
“We have to try. We know the situation not only in our own country but in the world.”
Loreen Rajkumar was also happy that in-person classes were resumed, saying she advised her daughter to follow all protocols.
“I tried to educate her every way that I could about safety, social distancing, touching, handling of desks and stuff...and I hope she follow, now that she is in school with her friends and stuff.”
Approximately 59 per cent of Forms 4 to 6 students attended school yesterday.
In Tobago at the Signal Hill Secondary School, Bishop’s High School and Scarborough Secondary School, all students’ temperatures were taken as they washed their hands to enter each compound.
One student back in Port-of-Spain, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was nervous being unvaccinated and going back to school but admitted that there was no segregation, even as protocols were adhered to.
“Our desks were four feet apart,” the Tranquillity Secondary School student said.
At the South East Secondary School, student Jayann Baptiste said there was no separation of vaccinated or unvaccinated students.
Students from the Arima North Secondary School, Old Road, Arima wait in line to get their temperatures checked before going to class on the first day of full classes for forms four to six students, yesterday.
ABRAHAM DIAZ
“They just mix up the classes but it had two classes for each form, so one class have a half and the next class have a half,” Baptiste said.
Her parent, Elvis Baptiste, said online classes were difficult for her, as she struggled with connectivity, but noted his religion is against vaccinating.
“Yeah, let the children come back out to school…I will never make she take the vaccine,” he said.
Rafique Hassanali, who dropped off students at the Carapichaima East Secondary School, said, “They supposed to do this a long time now. It don’t make sense you keep the children home. They had the online classes but how much children have laptop? Some of them have no internet, some of them home doing nothing at all.”