Ministry of Education has done well during COVID-19 – Octavia Alfred

Octavia Alfred

Education Minister, Octavia Alfred said the Covid-19 Pandemic has brought out the best in the management team at the Ministry of Education.

She made the remarks while addressing a press conference on Wednesday.

Because of COVID-19, students have been forced to stay home and are currently engaged in online learning.

“Covid-19 brought out the best in the management team at the Ministry of Education,” Alfred said. “We had a plan from February and in spite of what we did not achieve, we have done well.”

According to her, curriculum officers, education officers, IT Personnel, communication officers, CXC Registrar, school counsellors, special education officers, earlier childhood education officers, drivers, janitors, security, and social enablers all worked together with her ministry.

“So we fast-forwarded some things, while some things pulled us on and we did many things to ensure that no child was left behind,” Alfred stated.

“As I have said before,” the Education Minister maintained, “this situation is global, we did better than many in such a situation.”

She extended thanks on behalf of the Ministry of Education to all those who assisted in ensuring that all students were engaged.

Meanwhile, according to the minister, another group of Dominican students will arrive on the island next week.

The first group of students arrived on the island on Tuesday.

Minister for Health, Irving McIntyre, revealed during a COVID-19 press briefing on Thursday night that fifty-five 55 Dominican students had so far returned home.

“We are happy too, that our first group of students arrived home, on home soil yesterday [Tuesday 10],” Education minister Alfred said. “I am sure they have no problem following protocols as it relates to Covid-19 or their quarantine period,” Alfred stated.

She said the students are glad that they are home, “and we rejoice with them and their loved ones.”

“Home is truly where the heart belongs, there is no place like home,” she said.

“Another group will arrive next week and it is expected that as the weeks go by all our students who expressed their desire to come home will be home,” the minister stated.

“We must continue to be grateful and let us not frustrate the Grace of God by being careless in observing guidelines by the Ministry of Health,” she said, adding, “We will overcome, we will conquer…”

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24 Comments

  1. 72nations72elements
    June 15, 2020

    “Education Minister, Octavia Alfred said the Covid-19 Pandemic has brought out the best in the management team at the Ministry of Education.”

    Thats the best ? The Internet for you to make sure they put in the Kalinago Territory.

  2. Thefuture
    June 13, 2020

    Sometimes I wounder how do the minister Octavia Alfred sleeps at night. She must be tossing and turning a lot trying to get a good night rest, knowing that she is living a life trying to serve two masters at the same time, she knowing to well that, it is impossible to achieve

    “We must continue to be grateful and let us not frustrate the Grace of God by being careless in observing guidelines by the Ministry of Health,” she said, adding, “We will overcome, we will conquer…”

    And Minister Octavia Alfred you are concern of the way this government is treating the citizens of Dominica who are dwelling here, they are getting poorer every day while the ministers are getting richer. Don’t you ever stop and think these kind of behavior frustrates the grace of God?

  3. Red Pastor
    June 13, 2020

    Madam Minister I see you talking about not fraustrting the grace of God but I wonder if you watched yourself in the mirror before you said that, because I cannot understand how anyone who claims to know anything about God would be part of Skerrit and his profound Evil. In case the darkness of Skerrit has blinded your heart, here are a few passages you need to read and meditate on;

    “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Tim 2:19

    17 “My friends, I want you to follow my example and learn from others who closely follow the example we set for you. 18 I often warned you that many people are living as enemies of the cross of Christ. And now with tears in my eyes, I warn you again 19that they are headed for hell! They worship their stomachs and brag about the disgusting things they do. All they can think about are the things of this world.” Philippians 3:17-19

  4. Ibo France
    June 13, 2020

    Education is the great equalizer. It has lifted many a poor people out of abject poverty to great heights.

    A genuine assessment of the present education system will come from the students, teachers and the parents, not the Minister of Education. Self praise is no recommendation.

    Our education system is far from adequate. There are lack of essential instructional resources; lack of access to resource materials; many of the physical plants and classrooms are not conducive to learning; teachers are very much dissatisfied with their meager salaries and working conditions. I can go on ad nauseam.

    Mrs. Alfred, it is typical of people of your ilk to lavish praises on yourselves even when things are woefully awful. Distortion, falsehood, grandstanding and self-absorption is ever present with your regime.

  5. forgotten
    June 12, 2020

    The ministry of education is supposed to have a database with the students on scholarship in other countries and find out their situations for the covid 19 crisis. These students in tertiary level institutions I would say are students that the government invests highly in, and are bonded to return and work to build the country. As of today there are still students in Cuba stuck and without stipends, only last week the ministry of ed has contacted them as to their situation, unaware that classes have been halted completely since March. There are about 70 students on full government scholarships valued in the hundreds of thousands and they are largely forgotten in the crisis. Meetings on zoom never mentioned the word Cuba and there are widespread shortages right now affecting Cuba, the country that helps Dominica so much. That situation needs to be improved ASAP.

  6. Annoyed
    June 12, 2020

    I said what I said ! Good job madam minister! All you can dislike it if all you so desire .. when it was the twakah and words being twisted for headlines and views yesterday every body was all in. But now the REAL news is delivered yall angry ?? Behave eh

  7. Kalinago People
    June 12, 2020

    Ms. Melinard is standing strong too, on both of her feet, while she rides the wave of oppression. No one is gonna bring her down. We must never forget the story of David and Goliath. We should read it.

    • mountain
      June 16, 2020

      Kalinago has to stand strong and on her two left feet. She made you to believe, the chief ,parl. rep and village council are incompetent and drawing money under false pretences. She has to come with a plan on her own, without assistance to put things right.

  8. Remember
    June 12, 2020

    we need not forget when these people were draining the country to win an election at all cost. they were working so hard to bring down thousands of people to vote and they cannot bring down a few students to come home. alas!! dont tell me this is what we have become. wow, if we ask little of our politicians we will continue to get little. Because they go at whatever expense when they need our votes, they will do anything. Do you know how many chartered planes that were at Melville Hall Airport? Do you know how many boats that were hired.? come better, and lets ask more from the politicians that have proven to us that they have MONEY.

  9. Thinking
    June 12, 2020

    yeah they shouldn’t be like angry birds according to you…

  10. Real Dominican
    June 12, 2020

    DNO thank you for giving us a platform. Media continue to do your job to keep politicians in checked. You cannot twist words when you directly quoted.

  11. Workers of Iniquity
    June 12, 2020

    “We must continue to be grateful and let us not frustrate the Grace of God”….

    Members of the cabal, especially when faced with questions always like to say ‘let’s be grateful to God’, as if when we question them is a sign that we are not grateful to God or Maybe Skerrit is the god they referring to and as evil and corrupt ad the god is, he should not be criticized or be questioned. But I want the minister and others to know that it’s only they can fraustrate God’s grace by the evil, corrupt and ungodly behaviors because Paul pointing fingers at himself when he said in Gal. 2:21 “I “do not frustrate the grace of God: Furthermore, God protected us from covid-19 does not mean the nakedness of this government was not stripped naked.
    I agree we must not be careless and must use caution but at the same time it’s the of Skerrit and his government that had destroyed Da and will cause evil to be at our door, even if we are spared by covid-19. God’s wrath is against workers…

    • RoRo
      June 13, 2020

      The cabal and the most fanatic supporters are hypocrites. God doesn’t matter one little bid to them. The only thing that matters to them is MONEY. To keep the money flowing they need to stay in power. Since they know that most Dominicans are Christians, it’s of vital importance to them to be Christians too. Hence the word GOD is used so often by them. However, anybody that watches them carefully will realise that their actions are quite the opposite from practicing Christians. Ask yourself, does God like liars, thiefs, cheaters…?

  12. Kalinago People
    June 12, 2020

    politicians are there to be our servants and not to enrich themselves. if election was around the corner they would do much more. they could bring down all those big stars and even hire boats to go to other countries to campaign, so why our students shouldn’t come home? why our students shoudnt be able to do work online during a pandemic? open our eyes, they give us just 10% and keep the 90%

  13. Roger Burnett
    June 12, 2020

    Years ago, when “tablets” were presented to all secondary school students, there was an excellent opportunity to lead students into online learning. But next to nothing was done to exploit this valuable resource in terms of its potential and usage. Hence, Facebook won the day.

  14. Ann Bulnoir
    June 12, 2020

    where are the comments
    this is the positive news …so no comments
    our country cannot move forward when media personnel twisting a statement to make a hard working minister like Mrs Alfred look ugly.
    we need to stop it
    one thing I know this woman stands strong on her both feet
    conqueror she is
    well done minister and thank you

    • B Real
      June 12, 2020

      I’m not one to bash any good efforts but is she real? What about the situation of the 1600 Chromebooks donated by the Canadian Rotary Club that were delivered to the schools last November but not distributed to the students who need them? Is she aware of that? The IT support from the ministry is ridiculous and unfocused.

      Also why did they not have all schools having regular online classes with students. I can give an example of a school class (grade 2) meeting with students once a week on a Friday after at 6pm.

      • Stressfree
        June 12, 2020

        In addition during the 2014 election promises were made that every child in school will have access to a tablet – Mr. Darroux not the one with the gun but the one from St Joseph Kelver, held a tablet in his hand on a platform showing off that going forward never again will children will be left stranded in the IT world- that there was a forty foot container with tablets that every child will not be spared…well tell the education Minister if she is honest then speak to this promise – I asked her to demand that her government now makes good on their promise. Or else it will be seen as another election GIMMICK to fool the people of Dominica. Is that what the hard working Mrs Alfred is now part off and supports . There are many more bogus and empty promises the party and her leader has uttered all in an attempt to gain political advantage and not for the true and genuine advancement of the people of Dominica, Again Shame on all of them, ne christian ne non christian .

        • Nkrumah Kwame
          June 13, 2020

          I don’t know if the headline of this article was made by the minister of Education or if it’s the journalist’s summary of what she said.
          In either case, however, I found nothing in what is written that could be equated to “Ministry of Education has done well during Covid-19”.
          Did I miss something DNO?!
          HOTEP!

    • Batibou River
      June 12, 2020

      Bulnoir, are you for real. This woman is just as useless as her fellow government ministers. All they are good at is cheap talk, sprinkled with a good dose of propaganda and the customary self-indulgence. Nobody makes your Madame Alfred look ugly. She managed to do that all by herself. Have you asked your buddy why she took Skerrits offer???

    • Kalinago People
      June 12, 2020

      so the students shouldnt come home? and students shouldnt be doing work online during a pandemic? so much money we have throwing at cool out and big stars from the US. so why should we comment on that? some of us just think politicians are our masters, they are supposed to be our servants. they give us little and enrich themselves.

    • Totof
      June 12, 2020

      Well miss blackbull, the minister does not need help from anyone to look ugly. I mean she ugly in her soul. So the Dominican students back home now. What is the future of their education, where they getting their degrees and is government still paying their fees or Skerrit leave them on their own now and their families to look after them while he saving stipends.

  15. I am a parent
    June 12, 2020

    Thank you to the teachers. Your hard work and patience will always be appreciated by those who understand.

  16. Annoyed
    June 12, 2020

    Oh ok dno.. I thought is only what all you post yesterday she said . I see . Good job madam minister !

    Side note DNO all u too like twakah

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