brand logo

WP Grade 11 schools reopening today: Storm in a teacup or a Pandora’s box?

25 Jan 2021

  • Concerned parties weigh in on quo vadis

  By Sumudu Chamara   In the face of various concerns raised by teachers and principals trade unions, civil society activists, parents, and children, the Government recently announced its plans to reopen schools located in the Western Province today (25), in accordance with Covid-19 health guidelines, for students of Grade 11.  The Government also said that this decision was taken after taking into consideration the forthcoming General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level (O/L) Examination scheduled for March. However, the Minister of Education Professor G.L. Peiris stated earlier that no concrete decisions have been reached with regard to reopening schools in the Western Province for students of Grades below and above Grade 11. The Government's decision, which came after the initial reopening of schools on 11 January, in all areas except in the Western Province and isolated areas, was commended by some, citing the importance of resuming and continuing people's day-to-day-lives, which includes children’s education, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Others, however, levelled criticisms, claiming that Sri Lanka is still not ready to reopen schools, and that this decision is a rather risky one that might lead to the emergence of another Covid-19 cluster, centred on schools. Now that a majority of schools in the country have been reopened, The Morning spoke to several persons with the aim of looking into practical concerns associated with the school reopening process in the Western Province, which has been identified by the health authorities as a high-risk area for Covid-19, and based on what factors, whether the authorities should decide on the future course of action concerning the same.   Travelling to and from school: a major concern One of the main concerns that arise with the reopening of schools is how do school children travel to and from schools, given the congestion in public transport services in the Western Province? According to private transport services that provide transport for schoolchildren, a majority of Grade 11 students use public transport, while only a handful of them use private transport services.  To find out what types of measures the private transport services have taken to see to it that their services leave no or minimal room for the transmission of Covid-19, The Morning spoke to the All Island Inter-District School Transport Association. The Association said that in preparation for today’s school reopening, as per the authorities’ instructions, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests have been carried out on all drivers and assistants of private school transport services operating in the Western Province under their Association. Association President N.M.K. Harishchandra Padmasiri, told The Morning that these PCR tests were carried out under the guidance of the Western Province Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Deshabandu Tennakoon during the past few days. “As per the test results, none of the drivers or assistants operating in the Colombo, Gampaha, and Kalutara Districts under our Association have tested positive for Covid-19,” Padmasiri said, emphasising that the safety of school children, therefore, is assured. Speaking of the issues that the school transport vehicles may encounter from today onwards, he added: “As per the guidelines issued by the authorities, the number of students we can transport is less than what we did before. These guidelines include, among others, taking students only according to the vehicle’s seating capacity, providing hand sanitising facilities for all students, keeping the windows of the vehicle open if the vehicle is an air-conditioned one, and using one vehicle to transport children of the same college.” Speaking of this guideline, Padmasiri said that this however would be difficult to implement, as every vehicle has a number of students studying in different schools. Further, he raised concerns about schoolchildren who might use public transportation services, mainly buses, today. He added: “Even though we are committed to strictly adhering to the Covid-19 health guidelines that have been issued, we can only ensure the safety of the students using our transport services. Authorities should pay attention to the students using public transport services as well, as public transport services do not seem to be following these guidelines, which place school children’s lives at risk. If they are not careful as much as we are, it can create an issue.” When contacted by The Morning to inquire about congestion in private bus services, the President of the Lanka Private Bus Owners' Association (LPBOA) Gemunu Wijeratne said that they do not expect significant congestion today, despite schools being reopened for students of Grade 11. However, acknowledging that the congestion in buses is an issue that needs to be addressed, he said that the Government must have in place a proper system, i.e. a proper timetable for schools and public and private institutions, to reduce congestion in public transport services during rush hour, as the proportion of the public, especially schoolchildren, using public transport services is on the rise. He requested the Government to change the existing school timetable, and instead, introduce two time slots for each group of students, to reduce congestion.   Daily/Weekly situation review, post schools reopening: Education Ministry When contacted by The Morning with regard to the concerns raised by various groups concerning children’s safety following the reopening of schools, the Ministry of Education said that the situation in schools will be reviewed on a daily and weekly basis, in a bid to ensure that the situation in schools remains safe and under supervision. Secretary to the Ministry of Education Prof. Kapila Perera, further said that the reopening of schools in the Western Province for students of Grade 11 will be conducted in accordance with the original set of guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education concerning the reopening of schools in other areas, adding that to date, no pressing need has arisen for the education authorities to consider any amendments to the said set of guidelines. Speaking of the pros and cons of reopening schools in the Western Province, which has been identified as a high-risk area as far the prevailing Covid-19 situation is concerned, he said that the Ministry took a decision to reopen schools after careful consideration of the importance of resuming academic activities whilst maintaining Covid-19 safety guidelines.  Emphasising that the students' academic activities had come to a halt for months following the emergence of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added that in addition to the Ministry-issued set of safety guidelines, which give priority to maintaining social distancing within schools, hand sanitising facilities have also been provided for all schools resuming academic activities. He also said that prior to schools reopening, steps were taken to disinfect all schools with the assistance of the Police.   Teachers trade unions’ call for more facilities, random RATs Meanwhile, teachers’ trade unions expressed serious concerns about the entire process pertaining to the reopening of schools, and they alleged that even though the Governments has a set of guidelines with regard to maintaining Covid-19 health guidelines in schools, the Government has failed to find solutions to smoothly resume children’s education, which was disrupted months ago subsequent to the closure of schools. Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin told The Morning that in a context where Covid-19 cases are being reported from schools in various areas from time to time, it is important that the authorities accept that the risk of Covid-19 has not completely diminished. He added that the education authorities should, in addition to basic Covid-19 safety measures, look into conducting random Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) on schoolchildren to prevent the further transmission of the virus, and also consider giving free face masks to children.  When The Morning queried about concerns raised by teachers’ trade unions, who allege that the Government does not have a plan to provide increased facilities for teachers and students, Prof. Perera added that this will also be reviewed. He further said: “Considering the number of schools and students that have to be monitored and maintained, the authorities have commenced the school reopening process with great difficulty. There are around 907 schools in the Western Province that are scheduled to reopen today, and in these schools, more than 79,000 students are sitting for the GCE O/L Examination for the first time, and over 219 students are sitting for the same Examination for the second time.” Meanwhile, Ceylon Teachers’ Service Union (CTSU) General Secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe told The Morning that even though the authorities have paid attention to continuing children’s education, which is a commendable move, they do not have a proper plan to support school children to resume their studies after months of being on hiatus. He also claimed that students sitting for the GCE O/L Exam in March may face difficulties, as they did not have adequate time to cover the entire syllabus. In response, Prof. Perera said that so far, the Education Ministry has taken no decision in connection with making any changes to the syllabus, considering the study time they lost due to the closure of schools, and that this matter will be looked into after evaluating the progress of academic activities. Speaking of the issues faced by teachers engaged in academic activities, Jayasinghe added that schoolteachers are engaged in a very risky duty, and that it is practically impossible to maintain social distancing between teachers and students, especially with children in lower Grades. He claimed that the Government must look into providing some kind of relief or allowance to teachers. He also said that there is an issue regarding the leave quota of teachers who had to undergo a 14-day quarantine period after being exposed to Covid-19 patients or close contacts.  He added that the authorities have given priority to reopening schools, without addressing other related pressing issues. He further said that even though they attempted to hold discussions with the education authorities, they have not been able to hold talks and that the issues they mentioned, therefore, remain unresolved.   Voice of the masses When The Morning spoke to the mother of a Grade 11 student who is to start going back to school today, she raised mixed concerns about the matter. Susila (name changed to remain anonymous), 41, said that even though there is a pressing need to resume children’s disrupted academic activities, instances of students having to associate with colleagues coming from various areas, raises concerns about their safety. When queried as to what her opinion about distant/online learning methods was, she added that this method does not seem to benefit all children, as not every school child has facilities to attend online classes and/or access online learning materials. Even though The Morning attempted to contact State Minister of Education Reforms, Open Universities, and Distance Learning Promotion Susil Premajayantha, and Prof. G.L. Peiris, to inquire about the Government’s plans to address practical issues that came to light when introducing and/or implementing distant/online learning methods in the past couple of months, they were unavailable for comment.    International guidelines, recommendations concerning reopening of schools The Covid-19 pandemic hit the entire world, and almost all countries are trying to resume children’s academic activities while trying to deal with the overall pandemic. In a context where several parties have raised concerns about the reopening of schools in Sri Lanka, The Morning sought to find out what measures have been recommended by leading international organisations working in the fields of health and children’s safety regarding the reopening of schools. In this regard, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a number of recommendations, guidelines, and factors that need to be taken into account. Some of those recommendations, including social distancing in classrooms, wearing face masks, sanitising hands, and the disinfection of classrooms, have already been adopted by Sri Lanka’s education authorities. In addition, the WHO recommended the following: administrative policies such as setting attendance and entry rules; cohorting (keeping students and teachers in small groups that do not mix, also referred to as a bubble, capsule, circle, or safe squad); staggering the starting and ending times of schools including the times for breaks, such as for the use of the bathroom and partaking meals, and alternating physical presence (e.g. alternate days, alternate shifts); ensuring adequate and appropriate ventilation with priority for increasing fresh outdoor air by opening windows and doors, where feasible, as well as encouraging outdoor activities, as appropriate; the reorganisation of school transportation and the arrival/departure times; the clear accessible sharing of information, and feedback mechanisms established with parents, students and teachers; and the continuation of essential school-based services such as mental health and psychosocial support, school feeding and nutrition programmes, immunisation and other services. Moreover, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has, in a set of guidelines titled “Framework for Reopening Schools”, put forward a number of recommendations to be considered when reopening schools, in addition to those already implemented by Sri Lanka. UNICEF suggests/recommends several areas that need attention when and after reopening schools such as: how ready and able are teachers and the educational authorities to adapt to different administrative and learning approaches? Are they able and ready to implement infection prevention and control measures? How essential is classroom instruction to achieve the respective learning outcomes? (foundational, transferable, digital, job-specific) Are we recognising issues such as the importance of direct interaction with teachers for play-based learning with younger children and developing foundational skills? And, what is the level of exposure between the school population and higher-risk groups, such as the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions, and if exposure is high, can sufficient mitigation efforts be taken? Taking into account the potential positives and negatives concerning this matter, the authorities have decided to reopen schools, and the question we have before us now is not regarding whether schools should be reopened or not, but rather over what have we learned during the past few weeks after the initial reopening of schools, and what steps are we still need to take to see to it that schoolchildren as well as staff members benefit from this decision, and are not exposed to Covid-19. There is always room to improve, and learn from and rectify past mistakes. Children’s education is important, and so is their health. From what The Morning learnt from speaking to those mentioned above, it is clear that a closer and a more direct collaboration between grassroots-level school staff and education authorities, as well as Ministry-level interventions to look into their concerns, can solve a considerable number of existing issues.  Also, it is high time that the education authorities consider working with those providing indirect services to schoolchildren and shape their involvement to the benefit of schoolchildren. Most importantly, let us revel in the freedom we have received, but let us not forget that the risk of Covid-19 has not completely diminished and that every precautionary measure we take has an impact on all.

Kapruka

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!

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!


More News..