Ensuring the Safety and Security of Our Learners and Teachers During COVID-19 Pandemic in South Sudan

How to Ensure Safety and Security of Our Learners and Teachers To Achieve Effective Learning and Teaching During The Time of COVID-19 In South Sudan

By Ustaz John Garang Ayii Riak, Juba, South Sudan

Friday, March 12, 2021 (PW) — As the Global Pandemic Second Wave of COVID-19 is threatening people and increasing worldwide, South Sudan is not exceptional in this matter. It has badly affected many dimensions of human’s life and education is included. Yet, education is one of the life-saving issues for human beings that why it is said that, “education cannot wait despite the threat of global pandemic of COVID-19.” Therefore, South Sudan should continue to explore different options and requirements that should be put in place to prevent the widespread of the Second Wave of COVID-19 in the educational institutions and into the community as well and to ensure the safety of our learners and both teaching and non-teaching staff while at school. Extraordinary requirements should be delivered for pre-primary education, primary, TVET, secondary schools, and higher learning institutions, residential schools or other specified private and public academic institutions.

The following are the suggestions and recommendations to be put in place in order to allow the smooth running of the academic institutions:

Community measures; First and foremost, should be carried out such as an early detection, testing, contact tracing and quarantine of the people who have come into contacts with the infected and investigate groups whether they have met with others people or not should be done.

Ensure physical distancing, hand and hygiene practices and age-appropriate mask use; these should be to shield vulnerable groups. In addition, community-led initiatives such as addressing misleading information regarding Second Wave of COVID-19 should also play an important role in reducing the risk of getting the COVID-19 from the infected person.

Laws, rules, practice, and infrastructure: Ensure the necessary resources, policies and infrastructure, are in place that should protect the health and safety of all school staff both teaching and non-teaching including vulnerable groups or people in the school.

Behavioral characteristics: Education policy makers should also consider the age and capacity of learners to understand and obey the preventive measures put in place. Younger kids at the ECD and low primary schools may not obey and observe the physical distancing or the appropriate and frequent use of face masks, but they should be taught how to adhere to the aforementioned preventive measures against the global pandemic of COVID-19.

Security and Safety: The prolong school closure or immediate re-opening may be the threat to the safety and security of learners and the most vulnerable children may need a special research and study in order to protect vulnerable children, such as during reporting to schools and going back to their homes or in case of picking and dropping off the learners in term of school vans.

Hygiene, sanitation and daily performs at the school and classroom level: Physical distancing of at least 1 meter between learners and teachers as well including spacing of desks, frequent hand and respiratory hygiene, age-appropriate face mask use, ventilation and environmental cleaning measures should be in place to limit exposure to the COVID-19. All schools should train staff, learners and non-teaching staff on COVID-19 preventive measures, prepare a schedule for routine cleaning and disinfection of the school compounds, facilities and frequently touch surfaces, and ensure the availability of hand hygiene facilities and local or national guidance on the use of face masks.

Screening, care of sick teachers, learners and non-teaching staff: Schools should enforce the policies and rules of “One should stay at home if he / she is feeling unwell”, waive the conditions for a doctor’s prescriptions make a checklist for learners/ parents/ staff to determine whether to go to school depending on the given geographical area ensure learners who have been in contact with an infected patients of COVID-19, so that they should be quarantined for 14 days and they also be subjected to thoroughly testing and screening on arrival.

Protection of vulnerable learners and other school members: Schools should identify learners and educators at high-risk with underlying conditions to come up with strategies to ensure their safety while at school; ensure physical and social  distancing and use of medical and face masks as well as frequent hand washing and respiratory protocol.

Keep Daily Communication with both parents and learners: Schools should keep learners and parents informed on the issue COVID-19’s preventive measures in order to control the widespread of COVID-19 in the country.

Extra school immunization and vaccination checks: Ensure continuity or extension of important services, including school nutrition, feeding program, mental health, counselling and psychosocial supports.

Ensure adequate, clean and clearly marked separate toilets for girls and boys and also ensure soap and safe water is available at age-appropriate hand washing stations. Possible increase hand wash stations (Tippy taps etc.) should be emphasized.Encourage frequent and thorough handwashing (at least 20 seconds) Place hand sanitizers in toilets, classrooms, halls, and near exits where possible (or let teachers have the hand sanitizers to dispense).

Incorporate relevant health education into other subjects: Teach and model good hygiene practices. At least once a day, particularly surfaces that are touched by many people (railings, lunch tables, sports equipment, door and window handles, toys, teaching and learning aids etc.) Use sodium hypochlorite at 0.5% (equivalent 5000ppm) for disinfecting surfaces and 70% ethyl alcohol for disinfection of small items, and ensure appropriate equipment for cleaning is available.

It should be strongly encouraged that everyone (learners and teachers) keep physical distance (1 meter minimum). Consider setting maximum capacities at which learners and teachers will be able to keep the safe 1 meter distance in shared spaces. Consider shifts, so that not everyone is in an area at the same time. Arrange seating accordingly in advance and consider markings on the floor wherever there might be lines.

In areas with cluster-transmission of COVID-19, a risk-based approach should be taken when deciding whether to keep a distance of at least 1 meter between students. Staff should always keep at least 1 meter apart from each other and from students and should wear a mask in situations where 1-metre distance is not practical.

In areas with sporadic cases/no cases of COVID-19, children under the age of 12 should not be required to keep physical distance at all times. Where feasible, children aged 12 and over should keep at least 1 meter apart from each other.  Staff should always keep at least 1 meter from each other and from students and should wear a mask in situations where 1-metre distance is not practical. 

Remote learning: Where children cannot attend classes in person, support should be given to ensure students have continued access to educational materials and technologies (internet, texting radio, radio, or television), (e.g. delivering assignments or broadcasting lessons). Shutting down educational facilities   should only be considered when no alternatives are available.

In the Classrooms: Before entry into a classroom wash handsand also make sure to ventilate the room regularly if possible (e.g., every hour for 5 minutes), Coughing or sneezing into elbow or a tissue (which is thrown into a covered bin immediately). 

Avoid tool sharing; Teachers and learners as well should avoid sharing of learning and teaching materials, if unavoidable, wash hands after every session or class. Shared tools could be teaching board, chalks, markers, rulers, sharpeners etc. Both teachers and learners should consider having a fixed seating chart, where every learner has a fixed seat in a classroom. Seating charts should be written down and shared with all learners, teachers and ideally parents. The school managers should keep reminding learners and teachers to keep distance of minimum 1 meter.

In conclusion, all schools should not remain closed, they should be re-opened despite threats of the global COVID-19 as the motto of education emergency say that, “Education cannot wait, despite emergency situations.” We must re-open academic institutions and apply all the aforementioned preventive measures for the safety and security of our learners and teachers to ensure the effective learning and teaching during the time of COVID-19 in South Sudan.

The author, Ustaz John Garang Ayii Riak, is a Lecturer at College of Education, Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology, Bor Town, Jonglei State South Sudan, who can be reached at johngayii2014@gmail.com

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