The 2021/2022 school year has begun in many Caribbean countries, with students resuming e-learning and not returning to school. However, there are still a large portion of the student population that remain unconnected, and are being left behind.

 

Across the Caribbean region the 2021/2022 school year began with less fanfare than usual, with schools remaining closed and students at home. At the time of writing, COVID-19 infections had recently surged in many countries, as the delta variant takes hold and vaccination rates are still low. However, in an article published in The Gleaner last week, a Member of Parliament in Jamaica was reported to have made statements indicating that very little had been done “…over the summer holiday to improve the education system’s technological readiness and ability to facilitate the continuation of online teaching and learning”.

It is likely that similar sentiments have been expressed across the region, as in many countries, there are still communities and/or a large segment of the student population who have not been able to engage in electronic (e-)learning activities over the past 18 months. The COVID-19 pandemic is no longer a novelty, and so by now, it may be fair to assume that governments and ministries of education would have addressed the deficiencies that are keeping students offline. However, that does not seem to be the case.

In this article, we highlight some of the reasons why Caribbean countries are not more online-ready for the start of the 2021/2022 academic year. However, it is emphasised that the points discussed are not to justify the fact that many Caribbean governments still have not made adequate preparations for all students to engage in digital learning. The article merely seeks to highlight potential factors based on circumstances as understood by the writer.

 

1.  Procurement takes time

A big challenge many Caribbean governments face is the cumbersome nature of their procurement processes and the need to ensure that there is adequate transparency and accountability, through the checks and balances that have been established. Public procurement has been the avenue through which a broad range of unauthorised purchases have been made, and over the years, many governments have sought to tighten their procedures, in order to limit the activities that can fall through the cracks.

Unfortunately, these more stringent procedures have resulted in a more multi-layered process, which can be quite protracted. Additionally procurement processes across the region are in varying degrees of digitalisation. In the majority of instances, procurement notices are published online, but bid submissions are still sometimes limited to hardcopy. Further, the review process may not necessarily be digitised and optimised, allowing for seamless and timely transitions from one stage to the next. It may thus mean that even with the best intentions, the purchasing of devices, and procuring the necessary infrastructural upgrades, for example, may be delayed due to the procurement processes that must be completed.

 

2.  Inadequate supply to meet demand

Another contributor to the delays being experienced is the fact that across many industries, the global supply chain has been adversely affected by the pandemic. For example, manufacturing has been experiencing shortages of raw materials, and in countries that implemented extensive lockdowns, some factories would have been closed during those periods.

In the ICT space, there has been a global shortage of computer chips, which are integral to the manufacture of laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers along with a broad range of other smart devices. Although reports indicate that production had returned to normal, there has been a surge in demand for computer chips, which to a large degree has been attributed to the pandemic. As a result, the lead times to fulfil large orders of electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablet and laptop computers, may be longer that had been the norm.

So although ministries of education in the Caribbean may have ordered new electronic devices for schools and students, fulfilment of those orders may be delayed, due to the increase in global demand for those types of devices, and the supply chain not being able to keep up.

 

3.  Governments have no money

One of the glaring but not frequently unspoken reasons why device procurement and internet infrastructure expansion and/or upgrades have not occurred, is that virtually all Caribbean governments are strapped for cash. With the decline of the tourism sector, government revenues have been badly hit, with many economies contracting over the last 18 months.

The procurement of new devices for the education sector is costly, and relative to other priorities, especially in a pandemic – such as ensuring that personal protective equipment, vaccines, and medical equipment and supplies, for example are available – purchasing new laptops and smartphones may appear to be the weaker choice.

With regard to infrastructure expansion and upgrade, it may be assumed that the telecoms companies (telcos) would undertake the needed works. However, the odds are that in many countries, the places that remain unconnected or underserved are those for which is has not been economical for the telcos to connect.

In countries that have Universal Access/Service Funds (UASFs), in principle, the needed expansion works or upgrades could be financed by those Funds. However, in practice, there is usually a process through which UASF projects are approved, and which also takes time. Additionally, many of those UASFs in Caribbean countries are modest, in terms of the moneys they have available. They are thus likely to be inadequate to fully undertake infrastructural works, if needed.

 

4.  Schools were to re-open for the new school year

Finally and, based on infection trends in the first half of 2021, many Caribbean countries would have been patting themselves on the back that coronavirus infections were getting to a point that would allow country-wide lockdowns to be abandoned and schools to re-open. There was thus a sense that ministries of education were gearing up for in-person teaching and learning to resume in September, which included in some countries, dedicated vaccination drives for teachers, in order to schools to open.

However, over the last two months or so, many countries experienced a marked increase in daily infections, hospitalisations and even deaths, which precipitated a tightening of the restrictions. One of the casualties of this development has been the reopening of schools.

To some degree, it could be argued that ministries of education were anticipating the re-opening of schools in order to no longer need to procure new computing devices and to address internet infrastructure upgrades that would be needed. However, with school having to remain closed, and with the future still uncertain due to the pandemic, greater commitment by governments and ministries of education to invest in the digital and remote learning is urgently needed, to limit the generation of students who are being left behind.

 

 

Image credit: August de Richelieu (Pexels)