Govt must ensure pupil’s not in Covid-19 risk – JCTR

LINDA SOKO TEMBO writes  GOVERNMENT should seriously address the issue of safety of the children and teachers as they travel or transit between homes and schools as the majority of children and teachers use public transport says Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR). JCTR acting director Father Alex Muyebe said they had observed that some public service vehicles still had not adhere to the recommended hygienic standards and prevention measures thereby exposing the travelling children and teachers to risks.  In a statement, Fr Muyebe said that the decision to reopen schools for examination classes challenged Zambians too profoundly and question whether it was a good decision when coronavirus cases were on the rise in Zambia.  Fr Muyebe said as JCTR they were asking government to go an extra mile to ensure safety of children and teachers as schools re-open for examination classes. “According to Government, measures are being put in place to ensure that school environments are safe to avert any possible further spread of the Coronavirus as schools re-open for examination classes on June 1.  “One of the grounds on which the decision to prematurely close schools back in March was based on the fact that there is scant knowledge on how COVID-19 affect children. It was also feared that the overcrowding in schools would have made social distancing difficult,” he said.  Fr Muleya said that the basic principle of probability stated that the increase in the number of cases of a disease in a particular area proportionately increased the chances of catching the disease for the people living in that area. He said that as JCTR they recognized that education was a right and no child should be denied in order for children to enjoy this right, they needed to have the right to health as well in the wake of COVID-19, it was a very delicate balancing act.   Fr Muleya said that the closure of schools had led to loss in terms of learning hours and the ad-hoc attempts to provide e-learning as an alternative education had not been inclusive and had failed to deliver expected outcomes.   “The closure has affected examination classes and this may translate into extra costs should the children not sit for their examinations on time, “The World Health Organization warns that COVID-19 may remain with us for a long time and that we must learn to live under the new normal. We are reminded that the new normal does not mean business as usual,” he said.  Fr Muleya said that JCTR called on Government, in the short-term, to put measures in place to ensure that schools did not become sources of a new wave of infections. He said that government should come up with a long-term, policy on how Zambia was going to manage the education system without compromising on the quality of education and the safety of children and teaching staff. The Sun