The Covid-19 pandemic is having a profound impact, not only on people’s health, but also on the economy, livelihoods, and education. According to World Bank data, as of March 2020, the pandemic has caused more than 1.6 billion children and youth to be out of school in 161 countries. This is nearly 80% of the world’s enrolled student population.
Before the outbreak started, the World Bank’s “Learning Poverty” indicator (the percentage of children who cannot read and understand at the age of 10 years), was 53% in low and middle-income countries. This pandemic has the potential to worsen this unless the countries act fast. Among the most important challenges created by Covid-19 is how to adapt the education system to the new normal. In Sri Lanka, children have been missing out on their school life for over a year, and are facing difficulties in adapting to online learning.
School closures as a part of Covid-19 control measures have a serious impact on students worldwide. At the same time, it has also impacted teachers and families, as well as people who made a living through supplying a variety of related services. Because of these issues, it carries a higher social and economic burden. The situation in Sri Lanka is not an exception, as the Covid-19 situation in the country is far from over. Therefore, extra vigilance and strict application of control measures is mandatory when considering the re-opening of schools.
The Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) as the apex professional body in Sri Lanka has taken several initiatives considering this need for the education system of Sri Lanka to adapt to the new normal. The OPA has prepared a comprehensive set of recommendations for the effective and uninterrupted delivery of school education, which were developed in consultation with experts representing all the professions, and after considering the strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, and current needs of the education system.
These recommendations include: Measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 after re-opening schools; gradual and stepwise reopening of schools; revision and adaptation of school curriculum for the new normal; improving the quality of distance education with optimal utilisation of electronic media and ensuring equitable access to online education; and how to overcome stress and burnout in students.
The following are excerpts of a discussion on the matter with OPA Vice President Prof. Indika Karunathilake, who chairs the OPA’s Education Committee, and is a Professor in Medical Education at the University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine.
Measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in schools
With the current Covid-19 situation in the country, stringent preventive measures should be adopted when re-opening schools to prevent the formation of super-spreader hotspots, as there is a high risk of spreading the disease among students and their families. To ensure safety, a number of steps need to be adopted, which includes mandatory universal masking indoors for both teachers and students, proper ventilation in classrooms, and improved hand-washing and sanitary facilities at schools.
It is also important to consider the surveillance of community transmissions at the local level, since more than 80% of cases are from out of schools. Re-opening strategies should be adopted based on this local-level surveillance.
Most importantly, however, all schoolteachers and non-academic school staff have to be vaccinated as the first step. With the ongoing vaccination programme, this process is being achieved. Next, focus should be on the students who are having comorbid conditions. In this process, children with chronic illnesses such as kidney diseases, diabetes, and haematological conditions should be given vaccination priority.
Subsequently, students in Grades 10,11, and 12 should be vaccinated. As per the prevailing data, Pfizer is the only vaccine currently approved by the WHO for children. Hence, it is important to preserve this limited resource for schoolchildren.
Two weeks after the vaccination, the gradual re-opening of schools can be commenced.
It is also important to formulate health committees that include the school Principal, Deputy Principal, past pupils, teachers, and students. This will disseminate the responsibilities among all stakeholders for preventing the transmission of the disease.
Conducting regular awareness programmes on Covid-19 preventive measures is also required to keep up the momentum and ensure the safety in the school premises. Parents should be advised strictly to avoid sending children to school with any Covid-19 symptoms, and family contact tracing should be done in co-ordination with health authorities. Training the teachers to implement symptom surveillance within the classroom will further help prevent the spread among the children. Guidance from school medical officers can be obtained in implementing these measures.
Another key move is to identify the students with underlying health conditions and provide alternate options, either to continue online learning, or if resources are available, to continue strict preventive measures.
Gradual re-opening of schools
Re-opening of schools should be carried out in a stepwise manner starting with districts with low rates of transmission and expanding gradually. For schools with higher numbers of students (e.g. National Schools, 1A, 1B), priority should be given to Grades 11, 12, and 13, which are facing exams.
Reducing the number of students at a given time to maintain physical distance will reduce the chances of spreading due to overcrowding. Especially in schools having high numbers of students, the schools can combine physical and online learning by teaching 50% of the students in the classes while the rest join online. The availability of resources for students in online learning should be taken into consideration when making decisions. In GCE O/L and A/L classes, each class can have a maximum of 25 students. In instances having more than 25 students, the class has to be split into two, to prevent overcrowding. All schools that have less than 200 students and teachers may be permitted to commence teaching activities at the earliest possible time. The school administration should be given permission to decide on the minimum number of teachers and non-academic staff required per day.
Curriculum adaptation
In this situation, where physical classroom learning is restricted, it is high time to change the present curriculum, adapting to novel education and learning methods that have proven effective across the globe. Planning for a blended learning approach, combining classroom learning, learning from the environment, and online learning, is a practical possibility at this juncture.
Incorporation of more student-centric activities and self-directed learning, and encouraging learning from the community and environment, is important for the child’s development. A blended approach with a digital education system is essential, as in the future, there will be a need to adapt school education to distance learning as much as possible.
Promoting student-centric learning experiences linking the television and radio while using the “pelapoth” system as the backbone would be practical even for the rural areas. School timetables could be limited and adjusted considering the short time durations and limited staff. More weightage to be given to identified priority subjects and the school timetables can be revised accordingly (e.g., to have six subjects for O/L examinations). Arranging a “catch-up education system”, especially for children in Grades 1 and 2, who have lost their primary school education due to the pandemic situation, is of utmost importance when considering their development.
Improving the quality of distance education
Different modalities of distance learning should be combined to ensure equity in access, which should incorporate electronic media (television and radio), considering their wide availability. Online learning has to be delivered in real-time, as well as recorded, to prevent missing classes. Paper-based distance learning will be a possible solution for some subjects.
Optimal utilisation of electronic media
All government-owned TV channels could dedicate a few hours of their airtime for online education. Those channels could advertise the programmes in advance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to select the best teachers in the country to deliver the school syllabus, so that there will be no discrimination against any of the students. This will solve the problem of delivering a high standard of teaching to rural students as well.
Establishing a TV channel dedicated to education is a need of the hour. This will create an opportunity to make use of the best teachers in the country, as they can conduct classes on television or radio for the entire student population of the country during the course of the day. All programmes should be aligned with the Government syllabus and the timetable, designed in consultation with medical experts and the educationists. The same programmes can be repeated via radio channels so that students who missed the TV classes can attend.
The Government could also request private TV channels to devote a reasonable airtime during the day for supporting education programmes or the main syllabus, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. For students that do not have sufficient TV facilities, TVs can be fixed in common centres such as community centres, temples, churches, mosques, and professional institutions so that students could make use of the facilities under the health regulations. Establishing neighbourhood study centres in selected localities resourced with a television will be a feasible option. Teachers residing in the locality can be deployed in such centres to guide students, while adhering to health guidelines.
Ensuring equitable access to online education
To improve online education, teachers should be provided with laptops and internet connections. If the teachers have their own internet connection, a reasonable monthly allowance for the expenditure of data would encourage the system. Recorded online lessons can be made available on a Government-run education channel and the Ministry of Education’s YouTube channel.
Online lessons also can be broadcasted on a dedicated television channel to cater to students without access to the internet and devices. Introducing a finance scheme to provide laptops to those lacking these facilities is highly important in these financially constrained times. Identifying areas having problems related to internet connectivity and providing temporary signal generators in collaboration with major internet providers is an essential task at this juncture.
Certain quotas of mobile data must be made available for students free of charge as appropriate, and additional data at a reasonable rate. The service providers can have certain restrictions to avoid malpractices using the technology. Providing tax concessions for mobile data providers who contribute to the free education system will be an encouraging step for the service providers.
Use of print media
Children who cannot participate online for any reason should be identified and worksheets should be provided daily/weekly. These efforts are also supplemented by textbooks and printed material delivered to students’ homes.
Overcoming stress and burnout among students
Students are invariably feeling stressed and anxious missing their school life, friends, and extra and co-curricular activities. Before starting online teaching sessions, telecasting an exercise program/yoga/meditation programme for children will help reduce their stress, at least minimally. Screen time should be kept to an essential minimum, as it is proven to increase the vulnerability to stress, anxiety, and depression in children. Arranging breaks between online sessions with suitable entertainment such as music/dancing or arts or performing arts is effective to prevent burnout.
Educational documentary programmes such as those aired on the National Geographic and Discovery channels, or skill development with programmes such as ship building, aircraft building, and documentaries will deviate the child’s mind from the stressful conditions, at least for a while. Online quiz programmes, debates, and competitions will also help create an interactive environment for them.
Promoting outdoor activities such as tree-planting sessions, sewing, adopting pets, animal husbandry, carpentry, repairing automobiles, drawing nature, photography, wildlife conservation, cooking, martial arts, and crafting are essential aspects in the development.
Outdoor sports activities and school teams can be commenced adhering to stringent health guidelines, in parallel to school re-opening.
Schoolchildren are the future of the nation. Therefore, commencing school education should be considered a priority. Moving into the new normal of school education requires a paradigm shift from the traditional approach to education. Thus, the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic can be considered a blessing in disguise to improve the education system of the country.
(The writer is a Medical Officer at the Directorate of Healthcare Quality and Safety, Ministry of Health)Paving a path to re-opening the doors of learning
13 Sep 2021
Paving a path to re-opening the doors of learning
13 Sep 2021
The Covid-19 pandemic is having a profound impact, not only on people’s health, but also on the economy, livelihoods, and education. According to World Bank data, as of March 2020, the pandemic has caused more than 1.6 billion children and youth to be out of school in 161 countries. This is nearly 80% of the world’s enrolled student population.
Before the outbreak started, the World Bank’s “Learning Poverty” indicator (the percentage of children who cannot read and understand at the age of 10 years), was 53% in low and middle-income countries. This pandemic has the potential to worsen this unless the countries act fast. Among the most important challenges created by Covid-19 is how to adapt the education system to the new normal. In Sri Lanka, children have been missing out on their school life for over a year, and are facing difficulties in adapting to online learning.
School closures as a part of Covid-19 control measures have a serious impact on students worldwide. At the same time, it has also impacted teachers and families, as well as people who made a living through supplying a variety of related services. Because of these issues, it carries a higher social and economic burden. The situation in Sri Lanka is not an exception, as the Covid-19 situation in the country is far from over. Therefore, extra vigilance and strict application of control measures is mandatory when considering the re-opening of schools.
The Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA) as the apex professional body in Sri Lanka has taken several initiatives considering this need for the education system of Sri Lanka to adapt to the new normal. The OPA has prepared a comprehensive set of recommendations for the effective and uninterrupted delivery of school education, which were developed in consultation with experts representing all the professions, and after considering the strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, and current needs of the education system.
These recommendations include: Measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 after re-opening schools; gradual and stepwise reopening of schools; revision and adaptation of school curriculum for the new normal; improving the quality of distance education with optimal utilisation of electronic media and ensuring equitable access to online education; and how to overcome stress and burnout in students.
The following are excerpts of a discussion on the matter with OPA Vice President Prof. Indika Karunathilake, who chairs the OPA’s Education Committee, and is a Professor in Medical Education at the University of Colombo Faculty of Medicine.
Measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in schools
With the current Covid-19 situation in the country, stringent preventive measures should be adopted when re-opening schools to prevent the formation of super-spreader hotspots, as there is a high risk of spreading the disease among students and their families. To ensure safety, a number of steps need to be adopted, which includes mandatory universal masking indoors for both teachers and students, proper ventilation in classrooms, and improved hand-washing and sanitary facilities at schools.
It is also important to consider the surveillance of community transmissions at the local level, since more than 80% of cases are from out of schools. Re-opening strategies should be adopted based on this local-level surveillance.
Most importantly, however, all schoolteachers and non-academic school staff have to be vaccinated as the first step. With the ongoing vaccination programme, this process is being achieved. Next, focus should be on the students who are having comorbid conditions. In this process, children with chronic illnesses such as kidney diseases, diabetes, and haematological conditions should be given vaccination priority.
Subsequently, students in Grades 10,11, and 12 should be vaccinated. As per the prevailing data, Pfizer is the only vaccine currently approved by the WHO for children. Hence, it is important to preserve this limited resource for schoolchildren.
Two weeks after the vaccination, the gradual re-opening of schools can be commenced.
It is also important to formulate health committees that include the school Principal, Deputy Principal, past pupils, teachers, and students. This will disseminate the responsibilities among all stakeholders for preventing the transmission of the disease.
Conducting regular awareness programmes on Covid-19 preventive measures is also required to keep up the momentum and ensure the safety in the school premises. Parents should be advised strictly to avoid sending children to school with any Covid-19 symptoms, and family contact tracing should be done in co-ordination with health authorities. Training the teachers to implement symptom surveillance within the classroom will further help prevent the spread among the children. Guidance from school medical officers can be obtained in implementing these measures.
Another key move is to identify the students with underlying health conditions and provide alternate options, either to continue online learning, or if resources are available, to continue strict preventive measures.
Gradual re-opening of schools
Re-opening of schools should be carried out in a stepwise manner starting with districts with low rates of transmission and expanding gradually. For schools with higher numbers of students (e.g. National Schools, 1A, 1B), priority should be given to Grades 11, 12, and 13, which are facing exams.
Reducing the number of students at a given time to maintain physical distance will reduce the chances of spreading due to overcrowding. Especially in schools having high numbers of students, the schools can combine physical and online learning by teaching 50% of the students in the classes while the rest join online. The availability of resources for students in online learning should be taken into consideration when making decisions. In GCE O/L and A/L classes, each class can have a maximum of 25 students. In instances having more than 25 students, the class has to be split into two, to prevent overcrowding. All schools that have less than 200 students and teachers may be permitted to commence teaching activities at the earliest possible time. The school administration should be given permission to decide on the minimum number of teachers and non-academic staff required per day.
Curriculum adaptation
In this situation, where physical classroom learning is restricted, it is high time to change the present curriculum, adapting to novel education and learning methods that have proven effective across the globe. Planning for a blended learning approach, combining classroom learning, learning from the environment, and online learning, is a practical possibility at this juncture.
Incorporation of more student-centric activities and self-directed learning, and encouraging learning from the community and environment, is important for the child’s development. A blended approach with a digital education system is essential, as in the future, there will be a need to adapt school education to distance learning as much as possible.
Promoting student-centric learning experiences linking the television and radio while using the “pelapoth” system as the backbone would be practical even for the rural areas. School timetables could be limited and adjusted considering the short time durations and limited staff. More weightage to be given to identified priority subjects and the school timetables can be revised accordingly (e.g., to have six subjects for O/L examinations). Arranging a “catch-up education system”, especially for children in Grades 1 and 2, who have lost their primary school education due to the pandemic situation, is of utmost importance when considering their development.
Improving the quality of distance education
Different modalities of distance learning should be combined to ensure equity in access, which should incorporate electronic media (television and radio), considering their wide availability. Online learning has to be delivered in real-time, as well as recorded, to prevent missing classes. Paper-based distance learning will be a possible solution for some subjects.
Optimal utilisation of electronic media
All government-owned TV channels could dedicate a few hours of their airtime for online education. Those channels could advertise the programmes in advance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to select the best teachers in the country to deliver the school syllabus, so that there will be no discrimination against any of the students. This will solve the problem of delivering a high standard of teaching to rural students as well.
Establishing a TV channel dedicated to education is a need of the hour. This will create an opportunity to make use of the best teachers in the country, as they can conduct classes on television or radio for the entire student population of the country during the course of the day. All programmes should be aligned with the Government syllabus and the timetable, designed in consultation with medical experts and the educationists. The same programmes can be repeated via radio channels so that students who missed the TV classes can attend.
The Government could also request private TV channels to devote a reasonable airtime during the day for supporting education programmes or the main syllabus, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts. For students that do not have sufficient TV facilities, TVs can be fixed in common centres such as community centres, temples, churches, mosques, and professional institutions so that students could make use of the facilities under the health regulations. Establishing neighbourhood study centres in selected localities resourced with a television will be a feasible option. Teachers residing in the locality can be deployed in such centres to guide students, while adhering to health guidelines.
Ensuring equitable access to online education
To improve online education, teachers should be provided with laptops and internet connections. If the teachers have their own internet connection, a reasonable monthly allowance for the expenditure of data would encourage the system. Recorded online lessons can be made available on a Government-run education channel and the Ministry of Education’s YouTube channel.
Online lessons also can be broadcasted on a dedicated television channel to cater to students without access to the internet and devices. Introducing a finance scheme to provide laptops to those lacking these facilities is highly important in these financially constrained times. Identifying areas having problems related to internet connectivity and providing temporary signal generators in collaboration with major internet providers is an essential task at this juncture.
Certain quotas of mobile data must be made available for students free of charge as appropriate, and additional data at a reasonable rate. The service providers can have certain restrictions to avoid malpractices using the technology. Providing tax concessions for mobile data providers who contribute to the free education system will be an encouraging step for the service providers.
Use of print media
Children who cannot participate online for any reason should be identified and worksheets should be provided daily/weekly. These efforts are also supplemented by textbooks and printed material delivered to students’ homes.
Overcoming stress and burnout among students
Students are invariably feeling stressed and anxious missing their school life, friends, and extra and co-curricular activities. Before starting online teaching sessions, telecasting an exercise program/yoga/meditation programme for children will help reduce their stress, at least minimally. Screen time should be kept to an essential minimum, as it is proven to increase the vulnerability to stress, anxiety, and depression in children. Arranging breaks between online sessions with suitable entertainment such as music/dancing or arts or performing arts is effective to prevent burnout.
Educational documentary programmes such as those aired on the National Geographic and Discovery channels, or skill development with programmes such as ship building, aircraft building, and documentaries will deviate the child’s mind from the stressful conditions, at least for a while. Online quiz programmes, debates, and competitions will also help create an interactive environment for them.
Promoting outdoor activities such as tree-planting sessions, sewing, adopting pets, animal husbandry, carpentry, repairing automobiles, drawing nature, photography, wildlife conservation, cooking, martial arts, and crafting are essential aspects in the development.
Outdoor sports activities and school teams can be commenced adhering to stringent health guidelines, in parallel to school re-opening.
Schoolchildren are the future of the nation. Therefore, commencing school education should be considered a priority. Moving into the new normal of school education requires a paradigm shift from the traditional approach to education. Thus, the threat posed by the Covid-19 pandemic can be considered a blessing in disguise to improve the education system of the country.
(The writer is a Medical Officer at the Directorate of Healthcare Quality and Safety, Ministry of Health)Kapruka
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Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Automobile, Mother and Baby Products, Clothing, and Fashion. Additionally, Kapruka offers unique online services like Money Remittance, Astrology, Medicine Delivery, and access to over 700 Top Brands. Also If you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.Send love straight to their heart this Valentine's with our thoughtful gifts!