By Sarah Hannan
Given the fluctuating risk levels that are presented by Covid-19, as the strains keep mutating, many countries that have moved on to “learning to live with Covid-19" seem to be facing issues with keeping children in school.
While schools are asked to remain open, students are faced with the erratic pattern of being asked to self-isolate every time one student gets sick and tests positive for Covid-19.
The next question is whether Sri Lanka too would have to face a similar fate, as several incidents demonstrate the rapidity of the virus spreading as a result of the movement of just one infected person.
Already, people are panicking over whether the next set of clusters will be reported from schools. With no clear plan seeming to be in place this time around, teachers, parents, and students will have to take a shot in the dark to find out the consequences.
“We have been waiting since the time the Ministry of Health issued the guidelines earlier this year when schools reopened in August after the first lockdown, to see that the necessary sanitiser or hand wash was provided to schools. We had to finally resort to asking parents to pitch in so the school had the necessary supplies when they reopened,” Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin told The Sunday Morning.
Moreover, Stalin noted that the health guidelines that the Ministry of Health had asked schools to implement were not adhered to in several schools due to the lack of resources.
Stalin said that many of the handwashing facilities that were fixed earlier in the year were now in a dilapidated state. As there is no maintenance allowance that is allocated for their upkeep, and as children and the staff have to repeatedly use these facilities, halfway through the term, there was not enough handwashing facilities.
Lack of facilities
The enthusiasm of schoolchildren to continue their studies was proven last week, when a photograph of three children seated by the roadside following their online lessons was widely circulated on social media.
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Schoolchildren from Baduraliya sit roadside at a spot there is better 4G signal reception, to follow online lessons. Photo courtesy Twitter[/caption]
The photographed children were residents of Kelinkanda in Baduraliya and had to come to that specific spot on the side of the road to find better 4G signal reception to connect to their online class.
The incident took place just a day after the 2021 Budget was proposed in Parliament that tipped the expansion of the Gamata Sanniwedanaya (Communication for the Village) programme, with an investment of Rs. 15 billion.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, tabling the Appropriation Bill for 2021, stated that an islandwide 4G and fibre internet technology is to be expanded under an allocation of Rs. 800 million.
The social media posts had grabbed the attention of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), which dispatched a team the next day and provided the area with the necessary infrastructure so the children could continue with their studies in the safety of their homes.
According to the TRCSL, telecom operators were also called in for the site visit and technical planning was undertaken to ensure 4G connectivity not only for Kelinkanda but for adjoining areas as well within two weeks on the direction of TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake, who had personally visited the area with the team.
“We will continue to actively drive ahead the coverage improvement initiatives in ensuring the digital divide is eradicated in the country,” Senanayake noted.
Steps in place
The Sunday Morning asked Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Stalin how effective the online learning method has been, given that there have been very limited number of days which the students spent in an actual classroom.
“We must say neither the Ministry of Education, the Department of Education, nor the Zonal Education Office have had any discussion with the teachers who are involved in the actual process of teaching the children. This whole method has turned into a massive mess,” Stalin opined.
While he praised the TV and radio programmes that are now conducted, he noted that the virtual classrooms have not been that successful.
“Most of these teachers also have children of their own and having to conduct online lessons has become a burden to them. They have not even been offered an allowance to foot their internet bill. Many depend on the data connection over mobile networks, so it is not a fixed amount they pay. The parents have to allocate funds for them to do their work and allow their children to follow online lessons as well,” he added.
Earlier last week, Minister of Education Professor G.L. Peiris too agreed that there is a lack of basic infrastructure that needs to be fulfilled to make lessons more accessible to all children in the country.
As the reopening of schools was pushed back by two weeks, the Ministry of Education had continued telecasting the lessons through the “Guru Gedara Educational Programme” on a state TV station as well over cable TV for grades 6-13.
For those who do not have TV, the Ministry of Education was also looking at broadcasting the lessons on radio as well.
The 2021 Budget also proposed that Rs. 3 billion is to be allocated to purchase television sets for rural schools to allow students to watch Guru Gedara, promoting the distant education module.
In the meantime, a study pack is also to be prepared which will allow students to follow a self-learning module that can be posted or delivered to students through the school administration.
Schools reopen tomorrow
Meanwhile, schools across the island will reopen for the third academic term tomorrow (23), with the exception of schools that are located in isolated areas to prevent Covid-19 from spreading, the Ministry of Education announced last Thursday (19).
“We have decided that schools will reopen for grades 6-13 on Monday as rescheduled. While schools in the isolated areas will not reopen, given the present pandemic threat level, we have also considered not bringing in students from grades one to five just yet, to ensure the health and safety of the children,” Minister of Education Prof. Peiris stated.
Accordingly, school principals are required to prepare the necessary environment for conducting classes for grades 6-13, while adhering to the amended health guidelines and practices.
The recommendations of the committee should be referred to the Zonal Director of Education in charge of the relevant education zone and steps should be taken to conduct schools accordingly. However, schools in isolated police divisions in other provinces will not be opened under this scheme.
The Minister further stated that the implementation of these decisions through the Principals' Committee has been delegated, as it is not practical to implement these decisions in a common manner from Isurupaya, as the existing challenges in running schools in each area are different.
“Although the GCE Ordinary Level examination is scheduled to commence on 18 January 2021, a decision will be taken in the next two weeks as to whether the examination dates will have to be revised due to delays in the commencement of schooling for children in schools in the Western Province and isolated police divisions,” Prof. Peiris said.
However, a decision will be taken in the next two weeks in consultation with the health sector regarding the possibility of starting schools for grade 11 children in the relevant areas.
The Minister of Education stated that a decision will be taken in the next few days, after discussions with the transport sector, regarding the health and safety measures to be taken when transporting students and what precautions should be taken by schoolchildren when accessing transport services.
Schoolchildren from Baduraliya sit roadside at a spot there is better 4G signal reception, to follow online lessons. Photo courtesy Twitter[/caption]
The photographed children were residents of Kelinkanda in Baduraliya and had to come to that specific spot on the side of the road to find better 4G signal reception to connect to their online class.
The incident took place just a day after the 2021 Budget was proposed in Parliament that tipped the expansion of the Gamata Sanniwedanaya (Communication for the Village) programme, with an investment of Rs. 15 billion.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, tabling the Appropriation Bill for 2021, stated that an islandwide 4G and fibre internet technology is to be expanded under an allocation of Rs. 800 million.
The social media posts had grabbed the attention of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), which dispatched a team the next day and provided the area with the necessary infrastructure so the children could continue with their studies in the safety of their homes.
According to the TRCSL, telecom operators were also called in for the site visit and technical planning was undertaken to ensure 4G connectivity not only for Kelinkanda but for adjoining areas as well within two weeks on the direction of TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake, who had personally visited the area with the team.
“We will continue to actively drive ahead the coverage improvement initiatives in ensuring the digital divide is eradicated in the country,” Senanayake noted.
Steps in place
The Sunday Morning asked Ceylon Teachers’ Union General Secretary Stalin how effective the online learning method has been, given that there have been very limited number of days which the students spent in an actual classroom.
“We must say neither the Ministry of Education, the Department of Education, nor the Zonal Education Office have had any discussion with the teachers who are involved in the actual process of teaching the children. This whole method has turned into a massive mess,” Stalin opined.
While he praised the TV and radio programmes that are now conducted, he noted that the virtual classrooms have not been that successful.
“Most of these teachers also have children of their own and having to conduct online lessons has become a burden to them. They have not even been offered an allowance to foot their internet bill. Many depend on the data connection over mobile networks, so it is not a fixed amount they pay. The parents have to allocate funds for them to do their work and allow their children to follow online lessons as well,” he added.
Earlier last week, Minister of Education Professor G.L. Peiris too agreed that there is a lack of basic infrastructure that needs to be fulfilled to make lessons more accessible to all children in the country.
As the reopening of schools was pushed back by two weeks, the Ministry of Education had continued telecasting the lessons through the “Guru Gedara Educational Programme” on a state TV station as well over cable TV for grades 6-13.
For those who do not have TV, the Ministry of Education was also looking at broadcasting the lessons on radio as well.
The 2021 Budget also proposed that Rs. 3 billion is to be allocated to purchase television sets for rural schools to allow students to watch Guru Gedara, promoting the distant education module.
In the meantime, a study pack is also to be prepared which will allow students to follow a self-learning module that can be posted or delivered to students through the school administration.
Schools reopen tomorrow
Meanwhile, schools across the island will reopen for the third academic term tomorrow (23), with the exception of schools that are located in isolated areas to prevent Covid-19 from spreading, the Ministry of Education announced last Thursday (19).
“We have decided that schools will reopen for grades 6-13 on Monday as rescheduled. While schools in the isolated areas will not reopen, given the present pandemic threat level, we have also considered not bringing in students from grades one to five just yet, to ensure the health and safety of the children,” Minister of Education Prof. Peiris stated.
Accordingly, school principals are required to prepare the necessary environment for conducting classes for grades 6-13, while adhering to the amended health guidelines and practices.
The recommendations of the committee should be referred to the Zonal Director of Education in charge of the relevant education zone and steps should be taken to conduct schools accordingly. However, schools in isolated police divisions in other provinces will not be opened under this scheme.
The Minister further stated that the implementation of these decisions through the Principals' Committee has been delegated, as it is not practical to implement these decisions in a common manner from Isurupaya, as the existing challenges in running schools in each area are different.
“Although the GCE Ordinary Level examination is scheduled to commence on 18 January 2021, a decision will be taken in the next two weeks as to whether the examination dates will have to be revised due to delays in the commencement of schooling for children in schools in the Western Province and isolated police divisions,” Prof. Peiris said.
However, a decision will be taken in the next two weeks in consultation with the health sector regarding the possibility of starting schools for grade 11 children in the relevant areas.
The Minister of Education stated that a decision will be taken in the next few days, after discussions with the transport sector, regarding the health and safety measures to be taken when transporting students and what precautions should be taken by schoolchildren when accessing transport services.