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Schools reopening: Parents fearful says teachers’ union

27 Jan 2021

By Dinitha Rathnayake   Many parents are in fear of sending their children to schools, citing the Government’s unfruitful Covid-19 management process as the reason, according to Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (26), CTSU General Secretary Jayasinghe said that the parents are still scared to send their children to school since there is no proper and suitable process in place regarding the safety of schoolchildren. “We understand that keeping children out of school is truly harmful, but parents are still afraid of the pandemic. The Government has to assure them of the safety of these children with a proper solution. Parents do not have faith in the Government’s actions. Covid-19 preventive measures, rules, and precautions should be taken in classrooms, dining halls, and toilets. All the schools should provide masks and sanitiser,” said Jayasinghe. According to Jayasinghe, emergency situations like a student becoming Covid-19-positive whilst in school, should be handled carefully. When queried whether the union agrees with the decision of reopening schools, he said that they completely agree as long as proper health and safety measures are followed. “We cannot see any option other than reopening schools. Doing virtual learning is not very successful, as everyone does not have the same facilities,” said Jayasinghe. However, he expressed concerns over school bus services where children may be exposed to Covid-19. When contacted, Ministry of Education Secretary Prof. Kapila Perera said the Government is prepared to take on the challenge and that all measures are being put in place to ensure the safety of all students and teachers. “We know that this is a huge challenge and we are not ready to take a step back. Students will also be made to follow strict Covid-19 health guidelines. Schools are strictly advised to be aware of the first contacts if there are any confirmed cases or Covid-19-suspected patients. We are fully relying on the advice of the health authorities and if they had advised us to not start schools, we would not have taken that step. However, if there is no such risk, we are willing to start schools with the advice of the health authorities,” Perera told The Morning yesterday. When questioned about schoolchildren infected with Covid-19 being reported from several schools, he said that schools cannot be closed indefinitely and that opposition may arise from parents as well if students do not get a proper education. However, when The Morning spoke to Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin, he claimed that 20 schoolchildren infected with Covid-19 were reported from Kuliyapitiya, Trincomalee, Kataragama, and Passara.


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