Reopening Schools with Preventive and Precautionary Measures for COVID-19

 

Rashid Hussain

 

This is the tenth month since the Coronavirus first began to outbreak in the Wuhan city of Chinese province Hubei. China took some prompt actions to prevent the disease to further spread in the country, it managed to somehow get control over the pandemic within a few months but until then the Coronavirus pandemic had traveled to different parts of Europe, United States, Asia, Australia, Africa and elsewhere. Schools and other educational institutes in various countries have already been opened and some other countries are preparing to open all of their educational institutes. Pakistan, after a reduced number of coronavirus cases in the country, has also decided to open its education institutions in different phases. On September 15, 2020 (today), the country’s universities, colleges, and the secondary section of schools have been opened. Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has welcomed the school students in his tweet.

Although the Coronavirus has been contained effectively in most of the countries but the game is not over yet; before its complete eradication, it has started to respread with a new wave in multiple countries. Covid-19 cases are increasing day by day in different countries, the World Health Organization has issued a new warning that another wave of the pandemic is on its way; it could cause more serious health impacts and more damage to the global economy and in the coming days. WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that Europe is reporting more cases than it did at the peak of the pandemic in April 2020.

On the government’s instructions, secondary schools, colleges, universities, madrassas, and other educational institutes have started classes following the SOPs formulated with the collaboration of the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, Ministry of National Health Services, and the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). All educational institutes have been issued the Covid-19 Guidelines and asked to ensure strict adherence to the SOPs, failing to comply with these instructions, the concerned institute or school would be closed right away.

 The government has asked all stakeholders to implement the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in all schools, and other educational institutes, some of these SOPs are;

• Classes will commence without formal morning assembly
• Every student, teacher, and other staff will wear a face mask and gloves
• The schools' canteens will remain closed, it will be mandatory for all students to bring their home-made lunch and water bottle
• No study material or drinking glass should be shared
• All are required to keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer with them
• An appropriate distance of six feet among students may be maintained
• School management should make sure that de-densification of the classes is well maintained, six feet distance is necessary, do not let any part of the building crowded
• Classrooms and other spaces must be ventilated so that pollutants and infectious droplets may be removed
• Anyone who is found Covid-19 positive will be quarantined at home or government facilitation centre
• Disinfection efforts are to be taken inside the school building and at the main entrance
• Thermal guns to check everybody’s temperature should be used at the entrance

 

According to the plan made with consultation of provincial education ministries, NCOC, and federal health ministry, the federal education Minister Shafqat Mahmood has said that students in grade six to eight will return to school on Sept. 23, while students in the nursery to grade five will be back to their schools on September 30, 2020. School owners and the principals have been directed to split the classes into two halves, half strength of the students will attend the class on one day and the other half strength will attend the same class on the next day. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan said that either shift-wise classes would have to be taken in schools or students would attend the classes on alternate days.

After the 19th amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, provincial governments are blowing their own trumpet; the provinces now enjoy more independence in various sectors, education is not an exception. Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training made a decision and formulated Standard Operating Procedures for educational institutes of the country but provincial governments have amended the said SOPs.

The Punjab government has announced to conduct pool testing of school students, teachers, and other staff members at different educational institutes. Sindh government says it will close the school if a single positive case is found, fine and cancellation of school registration are also among other options. It looks as the Sindh government is not happy with the schools reopening decision of the Federal government; CM’s advisor advocate Murtaza Wahab also expressed his discontent over the reopening of schools, he said in a tweet that “As a parent, I would request the Education Department, Government of Sindh as well as the Federal Government to reconsider the decision of opening up the schools especially the primary sections. The situation is still not certain & children may not be able to follow the SOPs.”

The KPK government has already sealed some one hundred and fifty schools on account of failing to act upon the government’s orders to keep the schools closed, some of the principals were also arrested who were later released. But the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan governments have told the media that they would follow the Standard Operating Procedures as per the Federal government’s decisions.

Prime minister of Pakistan Imran Khan said in his tweet on September 14, 2020, that “Tomorrow we will welcome millions of children back to school. It is our priority & collective responsibility to ensure that every child can go to school safely to learn. We have worked to ensure that school operations are aligned with public health safety rules on COVID-19.”

A week ago the Federal Education Ministry had issued a notification that the country’s all educational institutions will remain open Saturdays and there will be no winter vacations this year. But if a new wave of the epidemic comes, educational institutions will have to take online classes as we saw in the UAE, after the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country, when a few positive cases were detected in schools’ staff, the schools were shut and advised to try out the distance-learning program and run classes online.