Students from selected classes return to school tomorrow in Sri Lanka after more than three months amidst tight health precautions in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Ministry Secretary M.H.M. Chitrananda told the Sunday Times the school authorities had been given clear instructions on health restrictions to be followed when classes began.

He said that to avoid confusion schools should design flexible time tables for the teachers working longer hours on one or two days a week. The teachers could teach that period and then go home.

He said it was important that classrooms were split to maintain physical distances.

Education sector unions said that schools were faced with the task of finding sufficient funds to have health restrictions set out by the ministry with the opening of schools.

The regulations include installation of taps for handwashing, ensuring children wear face masks in classrooms, ensuring sickrooms prepared for emergency situations and spacing out classrooms to maintain the one-metre distance between students.

The Sri Lanka National Principals Union leader Mohan Weerasinghe said that having a tap for every 50 children in a school for handwashing would be costly.

He said a school with about 1000 students would have to instal 20 taps. Each tap with a sink would cost about Rs.10,000 and therefore Rs. 200,000 would be needed for 20 taps and sinks.

In addition, schools have to find funds for beds in sick rooms, sanitizers and liquid soaps which have to be replenished daily.

The Government has allocated funds ranging from Rs. 30,000 to Rs.110,000 to schools depending on the number of students.

Another hurdle is the spacing of desks and chairs in overcrowded classrooms. Dividing a classroom of 40 to 50 students equally would entail teachers teaching the subject twice over and thus doubling the hours spent to teach the same syllabus.

Some teachers said they would be redundant when some grades begin tomorrow.

The government has decided to resume classes in stages, beginning with grades 5, 11 and 13  tomorrow and moving on to resume classes for grades 10 and 2 on July 20. On July 27, classes will be resumed for grades 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Lastly grades 1 and 2 will resume classes on August 10.

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/200705/news/schools-partially-reopen-tomorrow-but-confusion-over-guidelines-408435.html