Concerned that the COVID-19 pandemic has widened social inequalities, some youth leaders have rapped the Government for not doing enough to help those from the lower socio-economic class, and, in some cases making life even more difficult for the poor.
Economist Johnique Francis believes not enough attention has been placed to rural students who are without Wi-Fi and, therefore, have limited access to education.
“Students have been out of school since March. This is going to further widen the inequality gap because those who can afford it, they are continuing school, they are okay for the most part,” she said during a Gleaner Youth Editors’ Forum, held via the Zoom online platform on Wednesday to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Jamaica’s young people.
“In the same light, those same parents who have to depend on the different side hustles, whether it be waitering at a bar, selling pan chicken by the side, working in a bar itself, those persons are out of a job, their income is continuously going down.”
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