K-P issues new SOPs for schools

The provincial education department has issued a new set of guidelines for schools in the province to conditionally reopen on September 15.

In a notification issued by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Elementary and Secondary Education Department (ESED) on Tuesday, all schools in the province will be allowed be reopen on September 15.

The notification further listed the precautionary measures schools must adopt to protect students and staff from the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

The notification read that as many as 65 soap bars will be required every month for a school with 80 to 100 students who must frequently wash their hands.

It added that two bottles of surface cleaners and two litres of disinfectants are mandatory for washing two washrooms for a month. To alleviate the financial burden on schools, they have been allowed to dip into the Parent-Teacher Council (PTC) funds to procure these items.

Heads of school have been directed to confirm to the district education officers (DEOs) the stock of soaps, disinfectants, and other necessary items in their schools. The DEOs, in turn, have been instructed to monitor the procurement of these items and the implementation of the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The ESED said that before reopening, all schools must be thoroughly disinfected.

The department further said that the staff at schools across the province must be trained on ensuring that the Covid-19 protocols issued by the K-P Health Department are followed by students. The provincial government had also made face masks as mandatory for all staff and students when schools reopen next month.

Earlier, the education department had allowed schools in the province to reopen only for administrative staff and some teachers on July 15.

The decision was taken after approval from the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC).

ESED employees and staff of schools have been tasked with ensuring the cleanliness and implementation of anti-coronavirus measures at these facilities. The education ministry has also devised rules of business for individual districts in light of the varying intensity of Covid-19 in the province. Schools in districts, where the ratio of the virus is high, will only reopen in consultation with the respective district administration to ensure the safety of teachers and students.

Reopening rest houses

Meanwhile, the provincial government has also issued guidelines for opening rest houses in the province to accommodate the rising number of tourists arriving in the province while preventing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government notice said that the SOPs must be strictly implemented at all K-P Houses and rest houses.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2020.