‘Premature to open institutions of learning’

Dr Tatenda Simango

The president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health located in the UK, Professor Russell Viner, said the benefit gained from closing schools had to be weighed against the costs.

He said, “Children’s education is damaged, and their mental health may suffer, family finances are affected, key workers may need to stay home to look after children and vulnerable children may suffer most.”

It seems premature to open our institutions of learning especially in urban areas due to the transportation logistics, overcrowding in classes, difficulty of maintaining social distancing in class, playgrounds and at break times. It is important to start the discussion because schools will need to be opened at some point. Furthermore, schooling can be done out of the classroom setting. The opening of schools will need institution specific policies, for now we will discuss in a general sense.

Having information and facts about Covid-19 will help diminish pupils’ fears and anxieties about the disease and support their ability to cope with any secondary impacts in their lives.

Strategies that have been recommended by the World Health Organisation will be discussed. Note that most parents cannot sustain online learning, disadvantaging most pupils in urban and more so in rural areas.

Strategies can include:
– Use of online/e-learning strategies;
– Assigning reading and practical exercises for home study;
– Radio, podcast or television broadcasts of academic content;
– Assigning teachers to conduct remote daily or weekly follow up with pupils using social media. Videos and audios can be recorded to satisfy syllabus requirements as well as address individual learners’ requests.

The initial but critical stage will involve transportation of the pupil as most pupils commute. Parents must ensure corona-safe mode of transportation. Most urban pupils use public transport to travel to and from school. Arrangements will need to be made to have a school bus, Zupco buses and/or commuter omnibuses dedicated to transportation of pupils to their respective schools.

These vehicles will need to adhere to the following strict hygiene standards:

– Sanitisation of vehicles with alcohol spray or chlorinated water before and after carrying passengers.

– Temperature check of all passengers before they embark (individuals with temperatures of more than 37,5 degrees must not to be allowed on the vehicle).

– Hand sanitisation of all passengers with 60 percent alcohol-based solution.

– Ensure masks are worn correctly and consistently while on the trip.

Ensure social distancing on the queues and with sitting arrangements (no standing passengers, at least one seat between passengers)

Schools need to: –

– Plan with local health authorities and school health staff to come up with emergency contact lists.

-Promote information sharing, coordinate, and follow guidelines from the national health and education authorities. -Share known information with staff, caregivers, and pupils, providing updated information on the disease situation, including prevention and control efforts at school.

– Utilise parent-teacher committees and other mechanisms to promote information sharing. Also be sure to address children’s questions and concerns — through the development of child-friendly materials such as posters which can be placed on notice boards, in restrooms, and other central locations.

– Reinforce that caregivers should alert the school and health care authorities if someone in their home has been diagnosed with Covid-19 and keep their child at home.

– Develop flexible attendance and sick leave policies that encourage pupils and staff to stay home when sick or when caring for sick family members.

Discourage the use of perfect attendance awards and incentives.

– Plan for possible academic calendar changes, particularly in relation to breaks and exams. Monitor school attendance and implement school absenteeism monitoring systems to track student and staff absence and compare against usual absenteeism patterns at the school. Alert local health authorities about large increases in student and staff absenteeism due to respiratory illnesses. Plan for continuity of learning in the case of absenteeism/sick leave or temporary school closures, support continued access to quality education.

Recommendations for healthy school’s programme include:

  • Sick pupils, teachers and other staff should not come to school.
  • Schools should enforce regular hand washing with safe water and soap, alcohol rub/ hand sanitiser or chlorine solution and, at a minimum.
  • Schools should provide water, sanitation and waste management facilities and follow environmental cleaning and decontamination procedures.
  • Schools should promote social distancing (a term applied to certain actions that are taken to slow down the spread of a highly contagious disease).
  • Ensure a procedure for separating sick pupils and staff from those who are wel — without creating stigma — and a process for informing parents/caregivers, and consulting with health care providers/ health authorities wherever possible.
  • Pupils/ staff may need to be referred directly to a health facility, depending on the situation/ context, or sent home.
  • Clean and disinfect school buildings, classrooms and especially water and sanitation facilities at least once a day, particularly surfaces that are touched by many people (railings, lunch tables, sports equipment, door and window handles, toys, teaching and learning aids etc).
  • Use sodium hypochlorite at 0,5 percent (equivalent 5000ppm) for disinfecting surfaces and 70 percent ethyl alcohol for disinfection of small items and ensure appropriate equipment for cleaning staff.
  • Increase air flow and ventilation where climate allows (open windows, use air conditioning where available).
  • Post signs encouraging good hand and respiratory hygiene practices.
  • Place sanitising tunnels at entrance, which will allow the pupil to be sanitised passively as they enter and leave the school.

Preschools
Preschools should focus on good health behaviours. Children can “practice” washing their hands with hand sanitiser.

Developing a way to track hand washing and reward for frequent/timely hand washing would be a good way to positively reinforce the action of washing of hands. Preschools should also demonstrate why it is important to wash hands for 20 seconds with soap and water.
Put a small amount of glitter in pupils’ hands and have them wash them with just water, notice how much glitter remains, then have them wash for 20 seconds with soap and water.

Use puppets or dolls to demonstrate symptoms (sneezing, coughing, fever) and what to do if they feel sick (that is: their head hurts, their stomach hurts, they feel hot or extra tired). Have children sit further apart from one another, have them practice stretching their arms out or “flap their wings”.
Primary and high school and tertiary institutions

Lessons should be pre-planned to tackle key areas in the syllabus that are difficult for learners. Subject areas that can be learnt from home should be tackled from home. “Hot -sitting” may be introduced to reduce number of learners in a class at any one time. Desks should be kept one meter apart.
Pupils’ agencies should be created, and they should promote facts about public health. Pupils should make their own Public Service Announcements through school announcements and posters.

Institutions should incorporate relevant health education into other subjects: –

Science can cover the study of viruses, disease transmission and the importance of vaccinations.

Social studies can focus on the history of pandemics and evolution of policies on public health and safety, as well as the secondary effects and investigate how public policies can promote tolerance and social cohesion.

Media literacy lessons can empower pupils to be critical thinkers, effective communicators, and active citizens in the importance of vaccinations.
Boarding schools will need to have a close monitoring of learners in the first month of learning for signs and symptoms of covid-19.
Staggering school start times and lunch breaks across different grades, increasing the space between pupils in classes or closing playgrounds.

If your child is sick, keep them home and notify the school of your child’s absence and symptoms. Request reading and assignments so that pupils can continue learning while at home. Explain to your child what is happening in simple words and reassure them that they are safe.

Dr Tatenda Simango can be contacted on [email protected] or follow him on Facebook; 9th Avenue Surgery.

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