News
No schools closure yet despite kids turning up with virus
Despite COVID-19 patient numbers spiralling in the past week, especially amongst young people, the education ministry said no decision has been taken to close schools.
Ministry Secretary Professor Kapila Perera said the ministry was monitoring the situation in schools and a decision would be taken if the situation intensifies.
Already, some schools have closed following students turning up ill with the virus.
On the first day of school for the second term last Monday, a school in Pannipitiya reported six COVID cases among students in the primary grades and in Grade 8.
Schools will remain open, despite concerns over rising covid cases. Pic by Hiran Priyankara
A junior school in Dickoya had to be quickly shut down when two students reported positive for the disease.
Schools in the Kuliyapitya and Kurunegala area were shut down following an increase in the number of cases identified with the virus.
In Walapane, in the Nuwara Eliya district, 10 students have been tested for COVID at the Norwood Estate school following one child turning positive for the disease.
They all come from line houses in the same area.
Many grama sevaka divisions and villagers have been placed on isolation.
The increase in COVID cases has prompted health authorities to once again limit crowds at weddings and funerals to 50 and 25 respectively.
In this backdrop of rising anxiety, the education ministry has set up a committee comprising school authorities, parents and public health inspectors to monitor the situation and make an early report.
“We are following the situation closely,” the education ministry secretary said.
The main education union claim the ministry has failed to fund schools for the purchase of personal protection equipment (PPE) and that schools are being burdened with the expenses of providing sanitiser, soap and sanitary facilities for students.
The Ceylon Teachers Union (CTU) said that apart from a Rs. 15,000 allocation to schools last year, schools have not received any funds to buy PPE equipment this year.
It also said that despite ministry guidelines, some schools were filling classrooms with 40-50 pupils.
The education ministry has insisted that classes with 30-40 students be divided so that no more than 15 students attend class at a time, with classes held on alternate days or on a similar roster.
“This has to be strictly followed,” Prof. Perera said.
But schools in most provinces failed to adhere to the guidelines. In the Jaffna and Nuwara Eliya districts, except for a few schools, classrooms were packed.
Many schoolchildren and teachers who use public transport also say there is no way health protocols can be followed in overcrowded buses.
Some teachers and students this week walked to school due to lack of transport.
In an attempt to cover syllabuses, some schools are putting on extra classes.
“This is taxing children over the limit,” Nuwara Eliya CTU District Secretary V. Indraselvan said.
CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin said already around 50 teaching days have been lost due to COVID lockdowns and it would be difficult to cover the entire syllabus. “They should make a shorter version of the syllabuses for this year for all grades,” he suggested.
Meanwhile, the ministry has postponed by two weeks a decision to reopen universities on April 27.