Keeping kids safe in a pandemic while still providing them with education was one of the toughest challenges faced by Education Minister Zach Churchill in 2020.
The Yarmouth MLA touched on a number of subjects in a year-end interview with Y95 news.
He noted that as education minister, closing schools but making sure students still had access to their education during the first wave of the pandemic was a priority.
Churchill pointed to the low numbers of COVID-19 in schools across the province as one of the year’s accomplishments.
“Creating an environment where people are able to be with their friends and learn, and where teachers are able to teach,” he noted. “I think that’s a pretty good situation to be in although we recognize it’s tiring for people under these circumstances.”
The Education Minister says that Nova Scotia was the only province that was able to successfully deliver learning materials for students without internet access, which were bundled with flyer deliveries.
He says the way Nova Scotians banded together in order to flatten the COVID-19 curve was something to be proud of.
Churchill noted the difficulties faced by many businesses particularly in the tourism industry, which are still being felt now – though one industry actually ended up booming during the pandemic.
“We’ve seen real estate go through the roof here in our community,” he said. “So there’s been challenges, but in those challenges you also find opportunities.
Looking ahead to the New Year, the Minister says we have to come to terms with the economic damage that’s been done while seizing upon new opportunities created by working from home.
Full interview between Jakob Postlewaite and Yarmouth MLA/Education Minister Zach Churchill:
