News
Classes to resume amid teaching and virus challenges
A classroom being disinfected
Classrooms are being prepped up with the help of educators and state agencies between next Wednesday and Friday for resuming grades 1 to 13 next Monday, but challenges remain.
Schools will resume next Monday, except in the Western Province and in lockdown areas.
The Education Ministry said schools will be cleaned up and disinfected according to guidelines to prevent coronavirus infections.
The Special Task Force, public health inspectors, as well as principals and teachers will help prepare the schools.
Ministry additional secretary L.M.D Dharmasena, said funds will be disbursed to schools to maintain health and safety, including purchases of sanitisers, hand washing liquid and face masks. Also thermometers will be distributed to schools that have not purchased them.
School principals are being asked to decide on seating in classrooms.
Popular schools with more than 2,000 students will have to maintain capacity at 50% he said, and the decision on seating will be left to principals.
“Schools that have fewer than 300 students will have no problem,’’ Mr Dharmasena, said.
Half of the student population will resume classes on Monday and Tuesday and the remainder will return Wednesday and Thursday.
Also, school authorities will have to determine how best to cover the 2020 syllabus in the first three months of this year. A committee of parents, teachers, and past students are exploring options.
The ministry is also planning bus services and discussions have been held with the Ministry of Transport, and chairmen and general managers of SLTB provincial depots.
Private transport service providers have been asked to cut down capacity to half and they have agreed, Mr Dharmasena said.
Teacher unions welcomed the class resumption, but acknowledged the challenges of catching up on lessons that had been unavoidably missed.
The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) said that setting time off to cover the 2020 syllabus in 2021 will only result in delays in covering this year’s syllabus.
“It would be best to prepare a fresh syllabus to incorporate the outstanding syllabus. The National Institute of Education and the National Education Commission, can join hands to prepare new syllabuses,’’ the general secretary, Joseph Stalin said.