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The education ministry says student safety is being given top priority as the country prepares to begin a phased resumption of face-to-face classes for children in grades 7-10.At the same time, the ministry said through the Education in Emergency Plan, guided by international best practices, all students are provided with the opportunity for continued learning through the modalities such as computer-aided learning, audio-visual learning and the use of learning kits."In collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Wellness we are now able to safely return some of our students into the physical learning environment which is being done on a phased basis. It is our plan for all students to have access to in-person learning as soon as it is safe for them to do so. Therefore, the grades 7-10 students will be provided with this opportunity once the Ministry of Health and Wellness has directed that it is safe for us to offer this opportunity to those students," the education ministry said in response to questions from the Jamaica Observer.The ministry also indicated that it has not received any formal reports from grade 7-10 teachers and students."We are, however, aware of the general preference for in-person learning which we know is the most effective learning modality for most, if not all, our students," the ministry said.Classes have been held largely online since last year when schools were closed after the first case of the novel coronavirus was reported here in March.Last week, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced in the House of Representatives that face-to-face learning will resume for 376 of the island's 759 primary schools on November 8.A total of 45,390 students will return to classrooms for some level of weekly physical learning. Among them will be high school students in grades 11-13, who will be accommodated in small groups to complete lab and other practical assignments for their external examinations."We wouldn't want our children to once again be deprived of the opportunity to sit their exams in a full and comprehensive way," Holness had said.The education ministry told the Observer that it cannot compromise the safety of its stakeholders and as such, educators, parents, and students have been engaged in a series of conversations to ensure that is understood."We have also put in place alternative measures to ensure learning continues, convened a series of empowerment and inspirational sessions with our key stakeholders to keep them motivated, and we have launched our National School Learning and Intervention Plan to address the gaps in learning wrought by the pandemic," the ministry said."While this is not the ideal, we are committed to addressing the learning needs and to attending to the welfare of all our students and educators," the ministry added.