 The education sector and in particular school operations have had its fair share of challenges over the last two years, most specifically because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face instruction has been intermittently affected as a result of a rise in COVID cases. A new phase of such an occurrence has put instruction back in the ever-challenging virtual world and is presently being examined by education officials. Other agenda items discussed at the policy meeting of the ministry held at the Kamduk Conference Centre at Goodlands included ICT in Education, the further development of TVET, the CPEA to replace common entrance examinations, and the development of secondary education. The quality of citizens we have one to three decades down the road will be speaking volumes either positively or negatively about the education that we served our children. So I believe in the holistic development of children, I believe that we cannot continue as a country to produce children who only have or see one dimension to life. There is that insatiable appetite in the country just to acquire material things and you are you are deemed a successful citizen based on what you've been able to accumulate over the years. Minister Edward expressed confidence the ministry despite the financial challenges of the nation can achieve its mission, the competent officers that it has within its ranks. The minister says government is very committed to making the right decisions that will ensure the growth of the sector and at the same time deal with the social issues within the St. Lucian community. I want everybody in the ministry of education irrespective of what level you serve at to be comfortable enough to come to the minister for a conversation that can advance the work of the ministry. No one department of government can solve all the problems but I've always said that if people do what they've been interested to do, St. Lucia will be a better place. Parliamentary Secretary Senator Honorable Pauline Antoine Prosper, a former educator herself, prescribed a continuous collaborative approach with all personnel within the education sector as the best means of ensuring children don't just get information but can decipher for their own benefit. So we have to find out whether our students have the skills that they need to really cope with the bombardment in information around them. We are speaking of COVID-19 at this time and there is so much information about COVID. Can our students look at the information and get the source of the information to find out or verify this information to find out whether this information is true, false, whatever it is. Ministry officials are currently monitoring the situation on the ground as relates the recent interruption in in-person instruction and will continue to work with stakeholders instructed by recommendations from the Ministry of Health on determining the way forward for classroom instruction as the country continues to battle the challenges posed by the global pandemic. From the communications unit of the Ministry of Education, Sustainable Development, Innovation, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, I am Chris Satney reporting.