Just as students have finally settled back at their desks, a global energy crisis is threatening to send them back home. With fuel prices skyrocketing, Caribbean schools are re-examining their digital readiness. But at what cost? In this article, we highlight some of the hidden dangers of returning to remote learning – which could indeed occur, if energy markets continue along the current trajectory.
In the halls of Caribbean schools, the echoes of the COVID-19 pandemic—the social isolation, the learning gaps, and the frantic scramble for reliable and accessible internet—are still very much present. Yet, just as the region’s education systems have begun to stabilise since the school closures of the earlier 2020s, a new, external threat is looming over the classroom: the global energy crisis.
Driven by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East in particular, along with a volatile oil market where prices have surged nearly 50% since early 2026, the Caribbean region, like the rest of the world, is facing a stark reality. For many families and institutions, the cost of simply getting to school is becoming increasingly less tenable.
Bracing for the last resort
In Jamaica, for example, and according to recent reports by The Gleaner, school administrators are already conducting surveys to assess their readiness for a return to remote learning. At the heart of the issue is the skyrocketing cost of fuel, which affects everything from school bus fleets to the private transport many teachers and students rely on. Moreover, informal reports suggest that similar concerns regarding fuel prices and reverting to online learning have been expressed in other Caribbean countries.
To that end, in Jamaica, some school administrators have begun auditing students’ access to devices and reliable internet, and to determine the ideal ratio of in-person school days versus being remote. In being proactive, the goal is to avoid the last-minute chaos that defined the 2020 lockdowns, though some principals view online learning as an “absolute last resort. However, the reality is that if fuel prices continue to rise as they have been, remote learning modalities will become an increasingly attractive option.
The problem with going back
The irony of returning to online learning is that the very crisis driving students out of the classroom—rising energy costs—also makes staying at home equally expensive. Stewart Jacobs, head of the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ), has warned that internet service providers are likely to hike prices as their own operational costs rise (Source: The Gleaner).
Furthermore, as many Caribbean families realised during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, it can be expensive when families stay home. To varying degrees, electricity, water and food consumption increased, due to, among other things, greater daytime electricity demand to facilitate remote/online activities, greater cooling demands, and increased appliance use, having more meals at home, higher snacking, more handwashing, bathroom use, dishwashing, etc.
Additionally, the transition back to digital spaces faces several insurmountable hurdles. First, although many students received devices during the pandemic, many of those tablets are now aged, broken, or obsolete. UNICEF studies have already highlighted that Jamaican students suffered significantly from inadequate access to tools during the first wave of remote learning. Hence, a return to that modality would not only further widen the existing digital divide but also result in some students being left even further behind.
Second, and in tandem with digital device availability and internet accessibility among students, we also need to question the extent to which teachers are equipped to facilitate digital learning. The digital devices that teachers may have received may have aged and be in need of updating. Increased energy consumption and internet use at home to facilitate online learning could be a financial burden to teachers unless specific interventions are made. Further, fresher courses to maintain or improve digital teaching skills may have been limited in the intervening years since the earlier school closures, resulting in difficulties in the quality of the online teaching provided.
The post-COVID era also saw a disturbing spike in school violence and behavioural issues. For example, in Jamaica, the education ministry reported 55 violent incidents across 50 schools shortly after the return to in-person classes, which could be attributed to the social isolation and limited supervision some students experienced at home. Hence, educators are legitimately concerned that another period of isolation will worsen the anxiety, depression, and other forms of psychosocial scarring observed in students who missed out on peer-to-peer interaction.
Finally, for many vulnerable students in Jamaica, for example, the school building is the only place they receive a reliable meal through programmes, such as the country’s Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education. A full-time return to remote learning would effectively sever this lifeline, placing an additional burden on families already struggling with food inflation.
A region in constant crisis
The current energy dilemma highlights a broader trend: the Caribbean education system appears to be in a state of permanent crisis. Since 2020, the region has hopped from a pandemic to hurricane destruction (such as Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa), and now to a fuel crisis.
This cycle of reactive survival is prompting calls for a shift toward ‘proactive crisis governance’, in which there is a shift from reactive survival to strategic anticipation, using frameworks to identify risks, prepare, and build resilience before disruptions occur. In the case of the region’s education system, instead of viewing remote learning as a temporary emergency patch, more resilient infrastructure—such as solar-powered schools and subsidised educational data packages—that can withstand external shocks should be the priority.
The verdict: A fragmented future?
As it stands, the consensus among Caribbean educators is one of reluctant pragmatism. Although online learning offers a way to keep the business of school going when the pumps run dry, it remains a pale shadow of the classroom experience and is considered an absolute last resort, especially if too many students are being disadvantaged.
If the energy crisis forces the region’s hand, it risks losing the progress made in the last two years since in-person school attendance resumed in earnest. Hence, the challenge for 2026 will be finding a middle ground—perhaps a hybrid model limited to two days a week—to balance the crushing cost of fuel against the irreplaceable value of the physical classroom.
Image credit: The Yuri Arcurs Collection (Magnific)
