Education to make exemptions for vulnerable learners
The education ministry has put measures in place to ensure the safety of learners who might be vulnerable to Covid-19 as schools commence.
In an interview with Nampa on Wednesday, the ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp said they have written to schools to request that learners with comorbidities be identified.
“We have asked that children who have problems of a chronic nature and who may require controlled medication, be identified. Teachers along with the Ministry of Health and learners’ parents will work out a programme of controlled medication for the child or work out a programme where the child will learn from home and still have access to learning material,” Steenkamp said.
She further stated that anyone who displays Covid-19 symptoms and those who test positive for Covid-19, irrespective of whether they are asymptomatic, must refrain from going to school.
“Our stance is that children who are exposed to a family member or who are from a household where somebody is diagnosed with Covid-19, should stay at home. We request parents to ensure that for the incubation period the child does not go to school. They will have to catch up with school at a later stage,” Steenkamp said.
During the Covid-19 briefing on Wednesday, education minister Anna Nghipondoka said research has confirmed that children are usually asymptomatic when contracting Covid-19.
“Five of our schools experienced sporadic outbreaks of Covid-19 but in all of these cases no child was sick or hospitalised,” she said.
Nghipondoka, however, pointed out that children with Covid-19 can transmit the virus.
This, she said, calls for parents to ensure that hygiene protocols are observed and that schools are alerted when a child displays Covid-19 symptoms.
At the same occasion, health minister Kalumbi Shangula stated that children below the age of 10 are considered vulnerable and they are advised to stay at home except for when attending to essential requirements such as school and for health purposes.
Schools will open on 26 January while early childhood development centres open on 1 February.
– Nampa