Elderly teachers and principals at high risk if schools reopen as planned: CTU
View(s):If schools are reopened on November 23 as planned, teachers and principals will be at a higher risk as most of them are elderly, the Ceylon Teachers Union said recently. They also expressed their concern of a possible ‘school cluster’, if schools are reopened this month, as COVID cases continue to rise daily.
“Unless there is a proper plan and methodology, reopening schools should be re-considered. The situation in the country, especially in the Western province, is still at an alarming level. Most schools with large numbers of students and teachers are in this province,” said CTU General Secretary Joseph Stalin. According to him, there are 4.3 million students, 247,000 teachers and 15,000 principals in government and private schools within the country.
He also said during the first lockdown, schools were closed from March 11 to August 10, and therefore the formation of a COVID cluster among the school community was prevented.
“Most students use school vans and public transport to travel to school. Though the Government assured a smooth public sector transport, most students who sat for A/L exams this year had to arrange private transport methods. This was among a small number of students. Maintaining physical distance while travelling will not be easy with limited transport facilities,” Mr. Stalin added.
According to health guidelines issued recently on public activities based on alert levels, schools cannot reopen if the country is at level three (several clusters in different districts) of disease spreading. However if it is at level two (one cluster of cases), schools can be re-opened only for grade nine and above. (Nadia Fazlulhaq)