It was back-to-school for thousands of students, but they encountered connectivity issues with the Ministry of Education’s online learning portal, on their first day.
As teachers and students attempted to sign in, they were greeted with a sign that read, “Undergoing maintenance. Thank you for being patient. We’re doing some work on the site and will be back shortly.”
As of three o’clock, the end of a school day, the ministry had not yet issued a notice or press release informing users of the connectivity issues.
Complaints flood in
Parents took to social media to vent their frustration, as they chronicled the agony of signing on their children for the first day of school.
Monica Sawyer said, “Mr. Minister, this ain’t working.”
Dedrie Hamilton who has three school-aged children said, ” I have three kids in school–grades 12, 10 and 5. No luck with MOE. It’s really frustrating.”
And Adreanna Martin said, “I been trying to get on, still nothing is happening.”
Teachers resort to Zoom
Anticipating issues with the new online portal, the Redcross Center for the Deaf used the Zoom platform to engage its students.
The school tested the platform last week for its students and decided to continue its use for the month of October.
A teacher who wanted to remain anonymous said her school did not get an update from the ministry on the use of the online virtual portal nor did teachers receive training on its use, so her school resorted to Zoom, a tried and true platform that has arisen in popularity since the onset of the pandemic.
Ministry says it will fix the problem
When CSJ Report called the ministry, a secretary said technicians were working to rectify the problem. She said her office has been bombarded with calls from concern parents were trying to log on but were unable to do so. The secretary said teachers have uploaded assignments to the portal but students are unable to access them due to an issue “on our side.” The issue is expected to be addressed by Thursday morning.