Many students will be returning to school on Monday, November 2, almost eight months after classrooms were closed following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Covid-19 global pandemic. It has come as a great relief, especially for students who have been stuck home for the biggest part of the year. The reopening of schools, which will take place in phases, especially in public schools, comes after the ministry issued guidelines to be adhered to by schools ahead of the reopening. The guidelines include setting up handwashing stations in schools, having stringent mechanisms to ensure social distancing by learners, enforcing wearing of masks of both learners and other members of the school community, having in place an isolation room among other measures. Like has been repetitively said, reopening of schools does not mean that the pandemic has subsided, both in morbidity or the rate at which it spreads; it was a case of a balance act on the part of government to progressively reopen while taking the necessary precautionary measures to prevent infection. We have many instances to learn from in the case of the different sectors that have reopened since May, when the country came out of the total lockdown and these can offer valuable lessons. However, it is worth noting that unlike other sectors that have since reopened without causing much spike in the infections, schools are more of a special case, going by the set up and the kind of population that one has to deal with; students. With stringent measures accompanied with tight enforcement however, there is no doubt that learners will continue with their academic endeavors. It is also important that schools, especially private ones, understand the importance of timely reporting to the relevant authorities of a suspected case on their premises. School administration should not get tempted to hesitate to alert authorities, over concerns that their schools may be closed in the event of an infection on their premises. As has been the mantra by government leadership since the outbreak of the virus early this year, health comes first and should remain so. Parents should also not see children returning to school and feel that they have to let their guard down, by unloading the education burden to schools. If anything, the buck stops with parents; ensuring students adhere to anti-Covid-19 standard operating procedures should start from home.
