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Schools bemoan pittance given for virus precautions
Unionists have raised concerns about the meagre amounts of money given by the government for schools to comply with guidelines aimed at protecting children from the deadly coronavirus.
The Education Ministry has only allocated Rs 15,000 for each school.
Unions said they will have to turn to parents for help.
“The money from the ministry is not enough to maintain a sick room with two to three beds, wash basins with paddles, and to make masks and sanitisers available for the academic and non-academic staff ,” Sri Lanka National Principals Union, president, Parakrama Weerasinghe said.
According to Mr. Weerasinghe, schools have received different amounts.
“Some schools that really need the money have been paid far less compared witih schools that received a higher amount. We really don’t know on what grounds officials distributed the money.”
He said parents will have to be asked to help, “because we cannot seem to trust the word of ministry officials”.
He said the ministry had assured it will take responsibility to help fulfil the anti-epidemic measures, he said.
The general secretary of the Ceylon Teachers’ Union, Joseph Stalin, conceded that it is impossible to comply with the guidelines before schools restart.
“The government also seemed very indecisive about resuming tuition classes on the 15th of this month, and then shifted to the 29th of this month,” he said.
The Ministry of Education had recently made an announcement stating schools will reopen in four stages over four weeks.
From 29th June, the first week, teachers and principals are expected to report to work. Students from grades 5,11 and 13 will be expected to attend school in the second stage, on the 6th of July. In the third stage, schools will resume for students of grades 10 and 12. During the final stage, by the 27th of July, students of grades 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, and 3 are expected to attend school.
Mr Stalin raised concerns about maintaining social distancing among students when, by the 27th of next month schools resume for most students.
“We agree that schools must start, but there are some schools with 50 children in one class although it is not allowed, and the classrooms are smaller. Then, how will a school maintain social distancing is a big question,” he said.
Mr Stalin suggested that schools set up a programme that looks into the mental health of all students.
“These two months at home would not have been a pleasant experience to all the children as they come from different backgrounds. But, as a school, a child’s mental health must be given priority.”
To help teachers keep up with the term schedules and upcoming exams, the ministry has announced designated times for each grade as follows: grade three and four 7:30 am to 11:30 am, grade five 7:30 am to noon, grade six to nine 7:30 am to 1:30 pm and grade 10 to 13, 7:30 am to 3:30 pm.
Education Ministry, secretary, N.H.M. Chithrananda, told the Sunday Times, the least that could be allocated to schools was Rs 15,000, considering the country’s weakened economy. Money had to be allocated to about 10,000 schools, taking into account capacity and student numbers.
“The ministry has undertaken to purchase infrared thermometers to schools and we have allocated around Rs.191 million. Considering the time taken for procurement and other necessary procedures we are hoping to distribute the thermometers by the end of this month,” he said.
According to him, with the help of the police and the tri-forces, some schools in Colombo that were used as camps will be disinfected.
According to Mr. Chithrananda, the ministry has made an open invitation to help them fund schools to fulfill the requirements based on health guidelines.
“We posted the open invitation at the beginning of this week, although the responses were only a few they were satisfactory. We are hoping more people, especially the parents will come forward to help schools achieve the requirements,” he said.
The general secretary of the International Schools of Sri Lanka, Malithi Jayatissa, said the schools are ready to restart and all requirements according to health guidelines are in place.
“Our schools have a smaller number of students, so I hope social distancing will not be an issue, but having said that, we will be following the instructions of the MOE and open schools in phases. However, we are planning to reopen schools a few weeks after the stipulated date by the MOE,” she said.
She said that despite the lockdown, with the help of teachers, virtual mock exams, and online teaching continued. The children had adjusted to the new learning environment, she said.
“There were a considerable number of children who faced practical difficulties like unavailability of the internet and technological devices. We made sure individual attention was given to those children and we made arrangements to hand out study packs and recorded sessions,” she said.
According to her, key exams like the Ordinary Levels and other exams were not held and the students were assessed based on their past modules and performances.
While the MOE has announced that the schools will not hold a second term exam, they are advised to have school-based assessments.
The Advance Level examinations this year will be held from 7th September to 2nd October, and the scholarship examination will be held on 13th September.
The Commissioner General of Exams, Sanath Pujitha, said that all applications for the main exams were received online. Advice on health guidelines to be followed during exams will be revealed closer to the dates.