Manitoba students will not likely be heading back to class any time soon.
Premier Brian Pallister and education minister Kelvin Goertzen announced an indefinite suspension of classes in Manitoba March 31 in the latest measure to try and stop the spread of COVID-19.
Goertzen said that if health officials would approve, classes could resume.
“We're consistently using the science and the expertise that we have available to us in this province at every level and we are teaming with experts in these fields,” Pallister said.
“This is the advice we received and we are acting on it.”
While Goertzen said the possibility to return to classes exists, all plans announced are assuming classes will not resume this spring.
“We're always hopeful as Manitobans,” he said.
“Nobody has a crystal ball to know when things will return to normal or start to move towards return to normal. We will rely on the advice of our chief public health officer.”
Goertzen said students would be expected to continue learning through the rest of the school year, but no one would be held back because of the disease. Provincial exams for Grade 12 students have been cancelled and the province is in contact with post-secondary institutions to make sure entrances for this fall are not affected.
“[Students will] have an opportunity to increase their mark and to do better and I know that overwhelmingly students will want to do that,” Goertzen said.
“There is an incentive to continue to work, to continue to learn, not just because learning is an incentive unto itself, but because they will be rewarded with additional and more positive marks if they engage in that - and I think that they will.”
Goertzen said the province is working to provide proper access to every student, while acknowledging there are different challenges for rural areas with connectivity issues and catch up work needs to be done .
“We've been working closely with the school divisions to ensure we can provide the best support possible to try to level that playing field and get resources home,” he said.
“Teachers have been doing a remarkable job as well. That doesn't mean that it's going to be exactly equal to perfect in every part of the province.”
Goertzen said it’s up to the division to decide on which employees to keep and which to let go.
“Where you can use or repurpose employees to ensure that there's value being added to students who are now learning at home, then best as you can, use those employees to ensure that students are having a better experience learning at home,” he said.
“Beyond that, if [divisions] need to make their own individual decisions with their employees, then then they'll be doing that.”
Pallister added health care workers should now register for child care if they put in temporary measures. Some child care centres are remaining open to care for essential workers.
