Not again!
STETHS headmaster warns hurricane fallout could retraumatise post-COVID students
Published:Tuesday | November 4, 2025 | 12:08 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Principal of St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS), Keith Wellington, says the emotional toll of yet another disruption on students cannot be overlooked, especially for those already scarred by the COVID-19 pandemic and its prolonged shift to online learning.
“This cohort of students are students who actually experienced COVID-19, and we have seen the mental-health challenges that emerged as a result of that,” Wellington noted in a Gleaner interview. “I do not want that to happen to the students at STETHS because of Hurricane Melissa.”
With campus assessments still under way following the passage of the Category 5 system last Tuesdat, Wellington cautioned that a return to normal operations remains some time away.
“It is difficult to envisage any face-to-face activity taking place for at least a few weeks, and when it does, we will have to be scrupulous in how we bring our students back into physical presence,” he said.
The Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth-based school has roughly 1,700 students on roll.
“I do not see us being able to accommodate the entire student body in one go for at least a number of months,” he noted.
LIMITATIONS OF ONLINE LEARNING
While online learning may again become necessary, Wellington was forthright about its limitations.
“I am not certain I welcome the transition to online classrooms. It is far from ideal in our environment. Too many families lack the wherewithal to facilitate a proper online classroom. Even the school itself sometimes struggles with Internet bandwidth to sustain a significant number of classes online,” he lamented.
For the STETHS administration, education is not solely academic.
“We do not believe that simply completing the formal curriculum and passing exams is the be-all and end-all of our students’ education. Students must be able to socialise, develop habits, and grow into worthwhile adults,” Wellington said. “It is a very, very significant matter when our students are not able to come to school and attend face-to-face classes.”
Wellington pledged that the school will “deploy, to the greatest extent humanly possible, the resources to get our students back in the physical space as soon as we can”.
Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon has announced an emergency education plan, saying that schools should assess their own circumstances before deciding to reopen.