Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer

After operating as a double-shift institution for more than 30 years, Tulloch Primary in Knollis, St Catherine, has now been transformed into an all-day school.

According to Everton George Hayles, who assumed duties as acting principal at the start of the new academic year, the repositioning came against the background of a number of issues.

"Parents have been having some problems, in terms of sending their children to school, with the time.

"They always prefer to have a full day of school, so we find that they would send them to other schools out of the area, by bus."

Hayles also said the double-shift paradigm had a mitigating effect on students' reading ability, as they often did not get enough time to interact with teachers.

The head teacher, who has spent 23 of his 35 years in the field of education at Tulloch Primary, asserted that the move would propel the teaching/learning thrust.

"It will work well for the school because you will find more people now doing more of the things that we want - reading, math, extra-curricular activities; time that we have after school will be utilised fully," said an excited Hayles.

Rosemarie Sharpe-Williams, grade-six teacher, shares the principal's optimism.

More time to do work

"The students will definitely have more time to do their work and the teachers will have more one-on-one time with the children, so it's a good move and I'm excited about the days ahead," she told The Gleaner.

A similar sentiment was echoed by music teacher Jermaine Plummer, while Juliet Daley, who served at a single-shift school prior to her current seven-year tenure at Tulloch Primary, outlined some of the benefits that students stand to gain.

"It will be an advantage, especially for the slower learners, and more will be accomplished generally. A greater level of socialisation will take place.

"Everybody will be together when the clubs meet, so it augurs well for the children," said Daley.

But while there is applause for the successful implementation of the single shift, Hayles indicated that the school still faced serious challenges.

"Our library is in disrepair. It has not been used for a while. We normally used to have reading classes, but the condition is bad, so we just mainly keep it as a storeroom for the books.

"There are discussions about refurbishing but we don't have the funds. As a matter of fact, we are thinking now of looking for help to construct a new building, as the present facility was a container converted into a library," he explained.

But that's not the only issue. The school board is currently examining better security measures for its more than 500 students.

"The fencing is in poor condition; the people, sometimes the vendors, poke holes into the mesh, so we want to address that issue," said Hayles.

Up to September 6, 90 new students were registered for grade one at the school, which has a complement of 27 teachers.