The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

MORE than 2,000 students have registered for homeschooling over the last four years, according to Education Minister Jeff Lloyd.

Speaking to reporters before yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, Mr Lloyd said since being elected to office, his ministry has seen a sharp increase in the number of students registering for homeschooling and noted the uptick could be attributed to various reasons.

He said: “More and more parents are registering for any number of reasons. I’m sure you can calculate what they may be for homeschooling … (but) when I came to office in 2017, there were approximately some 500 students or so registered for homeschooling. To date, that number is approaching 3,000 so it only shows you that more and more parents feel that the traditional schooling does not meet the aspirations of them, their child, and their families and they are taking more direct control.”

Mr Lloyd said officials have also seen a rise in home-based schooling, a practice that has become increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“What we’ve also found is a new creature in education,” he said. “It is called home-based schooling, meaning that a group of parents are now essentially collaborating and finding suitably qualified places whether it’s a church hall or a person’s home that is available and they are putting several students together and they’re hiring teachers to provide independent and private tutor and instructions for those particular students.

“They too are registering with the Ministry of Education and more and more parents—and this is what I mean when I say I commend those parents for their dedication—more and more parents are taking control, intimate and direct control of their children’s education.”

He also said education officials continue to inspect the various facilities to ensure that the students are being taught the proper curriculum and are following proper health protocols in this current COVID climate.

He said: “In order for you to be registered, you have to produce the curriculum.

“You have to produce the teachers and you have to be subjected to an announced and unannounced inspection and that is even more important today because of the health protocols where you have to maintain social distancing, students must be wearing their masks and that the place is suitable for students with respect to ventilation. “

Schools closed last March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in institutions switching to a virtual platform.

Public and private schools reopened after the summer break last fall, however government schools in New Providence, Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma were teaching virtually until given the go ahead to begin phased face-to-face learning in February.