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Re-opening schools or online classes: Decision by 2 May

28 Apr 2021

  • Zonal education offices to be consulted

  • TUs slam Govt. over inconvenience to teachers, students

  As the Cabinet of Ministers decided yesterday (27) to close all schools in the country till 30 April due to the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, a decision as to whether schools would return to online teaching or if they would reopen for physical classes would be made by 2 May. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (27), Ministry of Education Media Secretary Buddhika Wickramadara said that the zonal education offices would be consulted in this matter as the present Covid-19 situation has affected education zones in different ways. Following the Government’s decision, the Bishop’s House yesterday announced that all island-wide Catholic schools would also be closed till 30 April. Tuition classes have also been ordered to suspend their operations. On 26 April, the Minister of Education Prof G. L. Peiris ordered that all schools, preschools and piriven in the Western and North Western Provinces be closed till 30 April while schools in other areas were instructed to strictly follow health guidelines, although, on the same day, a number of schools in other Provinces also decided to close till 30 April due to the prevailing health situation. However, speaking to The Morning yesterday, Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin claimed that the turnout of students had been low as parents were worried to send their children to school. “The turnout of students to school yesterday has been less than 20% and even 10% in some areas.” He accused the Government of not having a proper plan for the closing or reopening of schools, claiming that most students and teachers who had gone to school yesterday were left helpless. “Some teachers residing in the Western Province but teaching in schools outside the Province had gone to schools outside of the Western Province. All these teachers and students who went to school were left helpless. This decision to close all schools should have been made on 26 April”. He said that the decision taken by the Government to re-open the schools or to go back to online teaching should be based on a thorough evaluation of the Covid-19 situation at the time. He further claimed that the policy should be to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 through schools, alleging that at present, schools are only closed after the Virus is detected in schools. All grades of all schools in the country reopened for the second term on 19 April following the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holiday after having conducted online classes.  


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