NMTI still unsure of opening date

The tentative Oct. 5 date when the Northern Marianas Technical Institute will open is still up in the air.

Agnes McPhetres, NMTI’s chief executive officer, said in an interview that they still have not made a decision at the special board meeting last Sept. 24, and the board and the administration will continue their discussion about the matter. McPhetres added that once the board is ready to reopen the school, they will open but they can’t do that without funding. This will also be talked about the next time the board meets.

McPhetres sympathizes with not only the students who are calling and asking for applications to enroll in the institute but, more importantly, the students who are already registered even before the pandemic hit. She added that “NMTI still owe them to complete that level” of the module they are in.

When NMTI already has a fixed date to reopen, McPhetres said the instructors will be called back to work a week prior to their opening date to call students to see if they want to return and continue with their module. In fact, due to the many phone calls and students reaching out to her, McPhetres is certain that these students are more than willing to come back.

McPhetres gave an estimate of 200 to 300 students who are inquiring about the institute, and 100 students that have already been registered since January.

NMTI’s Claus Bier, speaking as a private citizen, says that in his experience, it always pays in times like these for unemployed people to get training to better themselves and pursue other viable careers.

McPhetres earlier said that, if many of the CNMI’s foreign workers, who are trained in a specific area that NMTI offers, leave, then there’s more of an obligation to train more residents to take on that role.

NMTI inspection
NMTI has already passed one of two inspections by the Governor’s COVID-19 Task Force. The second inspection will be this coming Tuesday, Sept. 29.

As of Sept. 24, NMTI has a total of 14 air purifiers that will be put in every classroom, four devices that emit sanitizing ultraviolet lights that will be used in the classroom and buses, and extra mask and sanitizers for students who need them, said Frank Rabauliman, NMTI’s director of Administration and Finance.

According to Rabauliman, NMTI will be able to install the air purifiers in the classroom right next to the air conditioning so that when the air goes into the classroom, it will be sanitized by the air purifiers.

As for the UV lights, or violas, they will be used after every class is done. This will also be used in the institute’s buses. According to Rabauliman, if you put the UV lights in the center of the classroom, it will sanitize an area of up to a 20 feet radius, and will take about 18 to 30 minutes, with the treatment being 99.9% effective.

According to NMTI’s pandemic plan, instructors are required to wipe down all desks and tables in the classroom after every class. Additionally, instructors will have face shields, which are being ordered.