As schools across the province sit empty due to the COVID-19 outbreak, anxiety grows among students.
“It makes me worried because I am not sure when we will go back and if we go are we going to have enough time to do over the missing material,” said Yousef Arefi who is a grade 12 student at Harrison Trimble High School in Moncton.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy tweeted on Tuesday that the province will be rolling out its home learning plan in early April.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: 2 new cases confirmed in New Brunswick
Gregg Ingersoll is superintendent for the Anglophone East School district and says the district is not equipped with enough learning tools and equipment needed to replace classroom academics.
“Very little of what we do is done online or remotely,” said Ingersoll. “It is definitely not going to be the same quality or quantity of what they were doing in school.”
Ingersoll said that not all students have access to the internet and computers and if they do, in many cases, parents are already using the tools to work from home.
READ MORE: 2 new cases of coronavirus identified in New Brunswick, community transmission confirmed
“Even with the best plan, there’s still probably are going to be some students who are going to have a hard time accessing whatever we do if they don’t have access to technology,” said Ingersoll.
He said their goal is to foster as much learning as possible from home and that students who are unable to complete the work won’t be penalized.
“Just keeping them involved and keeping some learning going on that’s all we can really hope for right now,” he said.
Providing homeschooling to graduating students will be a priority he says as many plan to attend college and university in September.
But he said that, even if schools reopen in a few months, it may not be possible to cover all the subject matter missed. So, he said that post-secondary institutions across the country will have to adjust.
“The universities are going to have to reflect on how they measure student qualifications this year compared to how they’ve done it in the past.”
Ingersoll says while the education system is not set up to foster widespread at-home learning this outbreak is likely to change that for the future.
“I think you are going to see all kinds of technology ideas come out of this that are going to serve us well once we get back to school,” said Ingersoll.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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