Covid-19 SOPs for schools issued in Pakistan

Classroom strength limited to 25 students

RAWALPINDI:

The Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) has issued guidelines for the school staff and parents before reopening of the federal government (FG) educational institutions next week.

In this regard, the FDE Spokesperson said that a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to be followed had been issued for the school staff and parents. He added that the principals have been directed to ensure that the classrooms’ strength did not exceed 25 students per classroom. He said that all schools must arrange classes on alternative days as compensation to ensure restrictions on strength.

As per the SOPs, the body temperatures of people entering the institutions would be checked while they would be sanitised too.

There would be a ban on organising assemblies or any kind of events until further orders, the spokesperson told.

The parents have been advised to ascertain that social distance was maintained by the school van drivers. They have been urged to send their children covered with facemasks, be it of cloth. The parents have been urged not to send their children to schools if they felt sick with complaint of cold, fever and runny nose.

The spokesperson said that the students feeling sick for two-three days must undergo coronavirus tests if the illness symptoms stay for long.

The official said that parents must inform the institutions if their child tested positive for coronavirus.

Meanwhile, education experts Tuesday urged school administrations not to go into "panic mode" over the reopening of schools and every institute must take responsibility of complying with the guidelines to stay safe from Covid-19 pandemic as it is not over yet.

"Educate students about precautions from contracting Covid-19 especially when it came to touching shared surfaces like doorknobs, furniture, chair arms, tables, books, computer equipment audio/video equipment, game devices, and other communal use items, experts stressed while speaking to a Radio Pakistan's current affair programme.

Quaid-i-Azam University Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Ali said: “we have decided to hold the classes on rotation basis and this routine will be adopted for almost two months and after that new planning will be implemented according to the situation.”

Wearing masks in educational institutes will be mandatory for the faculty, students and staff, he added.

Sehala College Professor Naeem Dar adds that there should be a distance of six feet among students in a class. It means that one class will be divided into sections, requiring additional faculty.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2020.