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Some primary school administrators in the Corporate Area are appealing to the Government to help them balance face-to-face classes with online classes by providing them with reliable Internet and Wi-Fi connectivity.With many schools satisfying Ministry of Health and Wellness as well as Ministry of Education guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they received approval to reopen on Monday. The Ministry of Education recommended a staggered attendance each week for grades one to six. Also, there should be online lessons at least once per week.However, during a visit to some schools on Monday, the Jamaica Observer was told that Internet systems at some of the institutions are woefully inadequate to accommodate usage by teachers of all grade levels. Only one headmaster who spoke to the Observer had no issues or concerns regarding the Internet.Principal of the St Aloysius Primary School on Duke Street in downtown Kingston, Althea Palmer, noted that to deliver lessons on the designated online days, Internet access is crucial."We have no Internet on the grades one to three section of the school. For us to be effective, we need connectivity. We were promised. The process was started, but is not complete and we don't know when."The children need to be monitored while they are at home. What we would love to see happen, is that while we are having face-to-face, those who can't come to school, they could log on and the teachers could monitor them periodically to ensure they are on task. They can't do that now," said Palmer.At the Clan Carthy Primary School some of the children have illnesses and cannot attend school during the pandemic, therefore online lessons is seen as the best option for them.Winsome Reid, the acting vice-principal at Clan Carthy, told the Observer that, "Some of the teachers want to do the blended approach so that if a parent does not want their child at school because of comorbidities then it is good if that child can log in and listen to the teacher"."If they can't come, work is set for them in Google Classroom and he or she would be listening to the teacher at the same time. Some of the teachers want to do the blended approach, but that is going to be difficult because of Internet challenges. We have a very weak system here. It cannot carry the classes, because we also have the office to run."If we can get help to strengthen our Wi-Fi system, then it will be all system goes, coupled with the blended approach. We understand that the blended approach is a lot of challenge for the teachers, but for the ones who can, and would want to, we don't want anything to stop us," declared Reid.In a statement on Tuesday, Colin Steer, the director of corporate communication at the Ministry of Education, said it collaborated with the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology to launch the National Broadband Internet Project.The Universal Service Fund contributed $500 million towards the project, but despite the launch, Steer said the procurement process is not yet complete and recommended that all schools continue using their existing systems."We are in the procurement process. In the interim, all schools are expected to continue with their existing Internet contracts paid for by the grants provided by the ministry until the procurement is completed. Our principals were updated on the status of the procurement in a meeting held with them on December 31, 2021," said Steer.He added that since the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic, 100 schools were provided with satellite Internet, paid for by the ministry."This continues to date. An additional 30 schools have been connected to the Government fibre," added Steer.He noted that these 30 schools, which he did not name, can now terminate previous contracts with Internet providers.One school which has no Internet problems is the Holy Family Primary School. Its Principal Christopher Wright said this will allow his entire school population to go online on Fridays."We want the teachers to operate here on Fridays, so we have done some extensive work as it relates to the Internet and the ability to accommodate many persons."We have been testing the system and we have not had any challenges so far. We have also installed an antenna to spread the broadband to aspects of the community, probably in a 500 metre radius," said Wright."That is a plus for us and we give thanks for the service from Flow. At this time, we just hope that they will remain consistent with the service they are giving us so we can continue with the teaching and learning process," added Wright.