 I thank you for welcoming me into your homes and I pray that you and your families are doing well. As you are aware, the world is currently confronting the coronavirus pandemic. St. Lucia has, over the past couple months, embarked upon its own efforts to mitigate the spread of this deadly virus. Part of the response effort to stem the transmission of coronavirus on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Wellness included the initial closing of all educational institutions' schools from Monday 16th March 2020 until 13th April 2020. The dynamism of the current environment and the unpredictability that ensues means that while we at the Ministry of Education have made every effort to plan based on scientific and medical forecasts no one really knows for sure how this pandemic will unfold here in St. Lucia and the implications therefrom. Notwithstanding, after several consultations with stakeholders, please permit me to share with you and allow you some insight into the thought process of the team at the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Gender Relations and Sustainable Development. Corporate partnerships and stakeholder consultations since the initial outbreak of the coronavirus and in the last weeks in particular have seen several of our team members participate fully in those meetings some of which were convened by the Prime Minister or lead government agencies such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Ministry of Economic Development, NEMAC, and private and public sector engagements championed by the Prime Minister and other lead government agencies. The Ministry has itself convened all participated in meetings with friendly governments, development partners, regional financial or lending agencies and corporate entities including the Taiwanese Embassy, the Cuban Embassy, the Indian High Commission through St. Lucia's Consulate in New York, the Canadian High Commission, the Caribbean Development Bank, CDB, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, OECS, Commission, United Nations International Children's Fund, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA, Digisil and Flow. The Ministry has also initiated dialogue with media houses, radio and television, which are critical partners in our anticipated hybrid approach for instruction, integrating technology and digital media with more traditional modes of instruction. Further and very importantly, we have also engaged with key stakeholders including the St. Lucia Teachers Union, the National Principles Association, district education officers, some parent teachers' associations and youth representatives. These deliberations have informed much of what is being proposed for education beyond the Easter break. The proposed intervention for the third term starts with acknowledging that school is likely to remain closed during that period contingent upon the advice of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. Therefore, the third term will be a learning from home term. We can all agree that these are challenging times and the way we deliver to or serve our students in the education sector of necessity will change. Already, I have seen remarkable demonstrations of creativity and innovation by our educators. The proposed interventions will require us to be even more flexible and nimble as we seek to ensure that our nation's children are not disadvantaged and that instruction is provided in a manner that ensures no child is left behind. It means too that parents would need to play an even more active role in ensuring that students are committed to their own learning. On the instruction front, what is being proposed by the Ministry assumes a multi-faceted approach or blended learning or teaching modality using a mix of media including television, radio and online platforms, activity sheets and student textbooks. Interventions will be differentiated based on grade levels and forms. In the coming days, the Ministry will advise on the protocol for collection of activity sheets and textbooks which would have remained at some schools. The preliminary findings of a recently conducted technological and e-skills audit suggest and please note we are continuing with follow-up research on that score that many of our educators and students do not have access to a technological device nor do they have internet connectivity at home. While the Ministry is proposing the use of digital platforms for reaching our students as one of the modes of instruction, we recognize the following. One, that the Ministry needs to facilitate the training of teachers in the use of online teaching tools and techniques for engaging students in a virtual space. Two, that the Ministry needs to equip teachers with the requisite technological tools. Three, that the Ministry must seek to enhance connectivity of teachers and students through collaboration with benevolent corporate partners such as the telecommunications companies and NTRC. Four, that the Ministry must make some provision for students who are not technologically proficient, do not have access to technological tools nor have connectivity at home. And five, that there must be some support for parents and students who may encounter difficulty. I wish to reiterate that we are aware of the challenges faced by our teachers as it relates to navigating the online environment. Many have indicated that they own no devices, neither do they have adequate internet access that allows for the streaming of online classes. The Ministry is currently collating information that will continue to inform our discussions with corporate partners and organizations with a view to implementing the interventions proposed above. Teachers are therefore encouraged to complete the questionnaire being circulated as it is through this medium we will gather accurate data to inform our decision making. We also note that other stakeholders may have difficulty accessing online instruction, hence the intention to provide support as far as is feasible. It is being proposed then that the third term commence on 20th April 2020. The week beginning 13th April will afford administrators and teachers time to meet virtually to plan each school's operational intervention and to undergo training, upskilling and retooling in the use of digital and media technologies. Though admittedly several training sessions have been conducted in the use of various platforms, it is necessary that more targeted sessions on the use of the platforms be convened. The intention is to improve the effectiveness of digital instruction. It is clear that we are moving towards leveraging information communication technologies for education. Although the foundation had already been set and various initiatives were being undertaken to steer our education system in that direction, this pandemic has really forced us to expedite the digital or e-initiatives that were being considered or were already in train. In my address to Parliament on March 10th 2020, I highlighted the ministry's multiple efforts to strengthen the e-education ecosystem. Then I underscored the importance of making the education system and I quote one which is more relevant, more inclusive, more equitable and one which embraces and leverages new methods for instruction and learning. End of quote. To this end, the government is expected to approve 3.8 million dollars towards computerization of schools in the 2020-2021 appropriation bill. This will enhance the e-readiness of our schools and will ensure that the schools are adequately equipped to facilitate the recent pronouncement by CXC that assessment will only be facilitated through the e-testing modality this year. The launch of our Learn Book or e-book initiative earlier in March thankfully has to some extent began to address the technological gaps in the education system and better facilitate digital instruction and learning. Devices have been distributed to the participating pilot schools. Given the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the opportunity to expand our e-education offerings, the ministry is considering an expansion of the pilot group and or the use of the additional devices expected on Island next week for use as testing devices for the CXCE exams later this year. If of course they prove compliant or compatible with CXC's assessment platform. Permit me please to mention some of the steps undertaken to minimize the disruption to instruction and to simultaneously thank the benefactors named. UNICEF has agreed to procure 75 tablets to be donated to economically challenged households. UNICEF has also committed to meeting some of the costs associated with training our teachers in the use of the various online platforms. The OECS commission donated equipment that will facilitate the setting up of five streaming rooms at different locations around the island. These rooms will allow the ministry to record and stream content to our students across the island and also to sister OECS territories. A special appeal is being made to our teachers to please volunteer and capitalize on this opportunity to share your knowledge and skill in a virtual space as we seek to continue to provide instruction at this time. DIGISL donated 500 MiFi devices, 25 of which were given to the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. Principals and teachers are currently being engaged to identify vulnerable students who could benefit tremendously from these devices. DIGISL has committed to training at least 20 primary school teachers over a four-day period in the use of Microsoft Teams. FLOW has granted free access by all our students to FLOW study. The CAMDU is continuing to train teachers and principals in the use of Google Classroom which is already installed and in use in secondary schools across the island. The OECS and other partner agencies are continuing to assist with the training in the use of NotesMaster and Moodle. The above mentioned interventions complement the eBooks project funded by the Government of St. Lucia, the SPOT Classrooms project sponsored by the Taiwanese Government, the Profituro project funded by the OAS, training facilitated by the Commonwealth of Learning, all of which are geared towards transitioning to and strengthening our eLearning capacity and were well advanced before the onset of COVID-19. I wish to emphasize that in this third term, no new concepts will be introduced. The time will be spent consolidating topics which were introduced during the first and second terms. The Common Entrance Examination is currently being revised to ensure that it is aligned with the areas of curriculum taught during grade five and first term of grade six. Parents will not have to contend with teaching their children new topics, but rather are encouraged to augment the learning experience by engaging in fun activities at home that will reinforce concepts taught previously. Parents of students at the secondary school level are to ensure that their child or ward creates a Gmail account as the modality being suggested for secondary instruction is one which is heavily reliant on the use of Google Classrooms and the Google Suites. It is a fact that our vulnerable students are extremely disadvantaged in this environment. They are not only challenged by the lack of devices and access, but also they are currently missing out on the meals they would have otherwise gotten while in the physical school setting. To this end, the Department of Education has partnered with other agencies to ensure that this segment of our school population receives some form of nutritional support while at home. As it pertains to the examination schedule, I know that there has been much anxiety as it relates to continuity of education services, especially after the Easter vacation break. This is especially evident in teachers assigned to the parents or students scheduled to sit competency tests or end of school exams such as CXCCSEC and CAPE. As most of you are aware, a press statement was released recently informing of the actions related to the local and regional exams. The content of that statement still holds and any further changes will be guided by pronouncements from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer. Just to reiterate, one, the minimum standard tests done at grades 2 and 4 have been cancelled. The common entrance examination has been restructured and postponed, pending the all-clear from the Ministry of Health and Wellness. The Caribbean Examinations Council, CXC, has indicated that all testing this year will be via digital mode, that is, the e-testing mode. Hence, the Ministry has fast tracked the remaining phases of the Computerization of Schools Program to better facilitate the administering of e-tests by addressing hardware, software, training of teachers and training of invigilators. As it relates to CSEC and CAPE examinations, on reviewing the three options initially presented by CXC, the Government of St. Lucia agreed to proceed with the third option, which proposed examinations in September to October 2020, marking of SBAs between September and November 2020, and three publication of results in December 2020. The implications include the need to revise the start of and the schedule of the 2020-2021 school year, the need for universities to agree to the delayed start of the first-year students and the start of the academic year, and three, cancellation of the January CSEC examination. It was felt that this option would provide sufficient time for students to become academically and psychologically prepared to write the exam at the proposed later date. Of course, this is premised on pronouncements by the Ministry of Health and Wellness. In taking this position, the CSEC has proposed yet an alternate option, which seeks to have the examinations administered during the months of June and July. The Ministry of Education is at this time reviewing this option, mindful of the fact that the weeks and months ahead may be very unpredictable and we must be comfortable with the readiness of our students and teachers both academically and psychologically and our island's capacity to administer an all-electronic examination. The government's position on this alternate option, therefore, will be shared at a later date. In the meantime, we ask our students to maintain their study schedules and to use this time at home to consolidate their knowledge and enhance their preparation for the imminent exams. Now reflect on the adjustments made at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and our combined response efforts. The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, like most institutions of higher learning, has had to ramp up its online learning capabilities and outreach. One of the first things the college did was to conduct a survey of students to assess the level of access to broadband and Wi-Fi. What we found was that a small percentage of students were without access from home. Additionally, a large majority of students accessed data from other sources such as community Wi-Fi, Innovation and Career Readiness Centers or ICT Centers and from friends and neighbors. This issue was addressed in two ways. One, the college distributed Wi-Fi devices donated to the college by digital through the efforts of the Ministry of Education to students who were most in need of that intervention. Each device allows up to six users to access the internet at any one time. Out of the 25 devices received, ten were distributed in the south of the island and the remainder in other locations. The college also collaborated with the Ministry of Education and the telecoms providers to zero rate the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College domain so that students can access content without being billed for connectivity. Digital has zero rated the entire EDU.LC domain of which the college is a beneficiary and Flow has zero rated Sir Arthur Lewis Community College's specific IP addresses to allow Sir Arthur Lewis College students continued access. This has facilitated uninterrupted access to SALCC's e-learning portal. The college in an effort to assess its e-learning capacity also conducted a survey of the competencies and training needs of faculty. The data revealed that although the majority of faculty had some experience in online instruction many felt that they needed training in areas ranging from the use of learning management systems to content development and synchronous delivery modalities. The college's response to this was to design and host a training series to increase functional competencies of its faculty in online delivery. The training covers the following areas, introduction to online teaching and learning, using web conferencing tools, teaching with Moodle, LMS, formatting and adding content, teaching with Moodle, LMS, creating assignments and graded quizzes, teaching with Moodle, LMS, creating interactive content, teaching with Moodle, LMS, creating adaptive lessons, teaching with Moodle, LMS, using four and other collaborative tools. Eight, migrating from Google Classroom to Moodle, and nine, working with data in Moodle. The training is open to all practitioners in St. Lucia and the OECS. They are streamed on Facebook. Participation has been overwhelming. On average, the webinars have gotten 5,000 views with the last webinar peaking at 11,000 views. I wish to express my most profound thanks to those who have availed themselves of this learning and knowledge sharing opportunity. As a result of these efforts, the college reported that in the second week of the lockdown, 184 courses were created on its e-learning platform and 1,400 users were enrolled. By the end of the third week, there were 246 courses and 1,765 users. Presently at the SALCC, we have 1,900 users enrolled and 260 courses created and running. The breakdown of the data on online participation indicates one. More than 80% of our students are enrolled on the SALCC e-learning platform and are engaging with lectures and course material. Two, approximately 96% of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College faculty are using e-learning platforms to continue instruction. And three, approximately 84% of SALCC courses for semester two are now online. We at the ministry and the college are immensely proud of how the lectures have been engaging with students via the online platform. I would like to join with the college and to publicly recognize the heroic response of the staff and to applaud the tremendous spirit of peer-to-peer collaboration that the crisis has fostered. Many staff members have volunteered to assist with the online platform outside of their required areas of work. For example, one of the lecturers from the mathematics faculty developed an online training manual for staff. Additionally, the college is in the process of upgrading its storage on the platform this week, and we will soon be experiencing enhanced capacity. I must again express my gratitude to the board of Sir Arthur Lewis Community College, management and staff for demonstrating their commitment, intellectual dexterity and nimbleness in responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. I am confident that together we can address any lingering challenges as we endeavor to uphold our unwavering commitment to the educational advancement of our young people. There is no better time to demonstrate this than now, and this can prove the best gift to our young people in this the month of April designated as Youth Month. I know that much of what SALCC has achieved over the last few weeks is in part due to the Herculean effort of dedicated members of our SALCC family, and I am obliged to say a huge thank you to the principal, Dr. Keith Ness, Royston Emmanuel and the rest of the team. Thank you. While the National Skills Development Center NSDC had long embraced the value of blended learning, in the wake of COVID-19, the NSDC has moved more earnestly to using online platforms, WhatsApp and mobile phones for instruction in some of its courses. These include early childhood education and electrical installation. The center will also be using Zoom for the Sage Greening project work plans and the Live Skills Employability Skills sessions, which are scheduled to begin in a week's time. Participants can also expect to receive the lessons via email. The NSDC continues with its pre-registration and registration slash orientation for the Sky Project, which is being done in collaboration with other partners such as NELU. This process is now being done online and persons can visit the NSDC website for details. Mindful of the need to create local content and to record stream classes, as we endeavor to minimize interruption in the delivery of NSDC programs, simulations for other classes are currently being developed by the IT department and the public relations officer. NSDC has distinguished itself as an education institution that provides a holistic learning experience. Convincing to the importance of psychosocial well-being, the NSDC therefore is continuing to provide virtual support to students and staff during this crucial and potentially unsettling time. I wish to express my deepest thanks to Mrs. Selma Senprey and her team for ensuring that our NSDC students are served during this very uncertain period as we combat COVID-19 here in St. Lucia. Notwithstanding the hurdles we've had to overcome in the recent weeks, NELU continues to work with various stakeholders as evidenced by its collaboration with the NSDC to ensure that the highly successful adults and skills development projects continue. NELU continues to embrace diverse technologies to sustain the learning that has started and to build capacity among the facilitators. Admittedly, we've had to heighten our efforts to ensure that facilitators are au courant with the various digital platforms for learning and teaching and we continue with urgency in our capacity-building efforts in that regard. Many persons are asking what has the ministry's response been to our students who are overseas? We can assure you that students who are on scholarships funded by the government of St. Lucia either through the equip or otherwise have been contacted and can be accounted for. Some students opted to come back home and this was facilitated in partnership with other government agencies while others decided to remain in their country of study. The department has also facilitated the provision of psychosocial interventions for those students expressing need for that service. Psychosocial support for teachers, students and parents remain critical, especially given the emotional and psychological toll that this pandemic has had on our citizens, especially our students. There has been a whirlwind of dramatic changes that must pique the curiosity of our young inquiring minds and who knows what quiet fears or anxieties they harbor. The chief education officer is continuing to engage the head of the school counseling unit to frame a suite of interventions that can address the emotional issues that may arise while our students are at home. The ministry has also identified and will continue to share with stakeholders family activities that have instructional or loading value as well. Families are encouraged to use zero-rated websites, free loading resources, free audiobooks, free pass papers, free activities all recommended by the ministry and these can be found on the ministry's website and Facebook pages and will form part of the homework pack collected by parents whose children do not have access to social media. I wish on behalf of my peers at the Ministry of Education to express our thanks to all the agencies and organizations locally, regionally and internationally, friendly governments and development partners which have reached out to us to support our mandate in education. We cannot thank you enough. A special debt of gratitude is owed to our local telecommunications providers, DigiSell and Flow who said yes on that first telephone call that I placed to the country managers weeks ago. Your commitment to working with us in the provision of training, devices and zero-rating the content on your various learning hubs to allow for free access to our students and teachers is very commendable. I also wish to thank those who have expressed a willingness to assist and are still working out the details such as the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, NTRC and the Global Partnership for Education through the OECS Commission. While many of us have found at the plethora of unsavory video clips of misbehavior and non-compliance with the various COVID-related protocols that have gone viral, I wish to balance that imagery with our experience in the education sector. At every level in the sector, our stakeholders have quadrupled their efforts to ensure that our children's learning experience remains positive, stimulating and exciting and that our teachers are motivated to continue to shape the minds and character of our nation's children. We are very much aware of some of the new challenges that COVID-19 has brought to the fore and these we will continue to address by employing the usual consultative approach ensuring that stakeholders' concerns inform the decision-making process at the ministerial level. I beg your continuing indulgence, patience, understanding and cooperation as together we endeavor to employ our innovative and creative capacities to do what is best for our nation's children. May God bless you, may God bless our children, may God bless our beautiful island, St. Lucia. Thank you.