Schools to reopen – focus on positive outcomes

The very limited number of students who will benefit from this is itself an indication that we are still very far from real normalcy, but it is a small step along a long and demanding road.

The decision to reopen physical classes is not one that has been taken lightly.  While the number of Covid-19 cases seemed to be on a decline, daily updates from the Ministry of Health show that the numbers of infected persons remain steady and even occasionally increase.

As of last Sunday, there were at least 17 cases of the highly contagious and more dangerous Delta variant detected in the country, both among travellers and within the community.

Parents are understandably worried about the health and safety of the children who must use public transport to go to and from school. The vaccination status of drivers and fellow passengers remains a real concern for these parents.

They also understand that in their enthusiasm to finally mix with their peers, students may grow careless regarding safety protocols. The eternal optimism of youth can create an illusion of invulnerability and decrease in their minds the need to observe the strict and restrictive rules imposed by parents, schools and the Ministry of Health.

In short, the sheer relief of returning to the ‘safe haven’ of school, the longed-for company of friends and meaningful interaction of teachers has to be tempered with caution and the wisdom that science continues to reveal to us as we learn to live with this virus in our midst.

Every possible effort has been made by the Ministry of Health to have all children from the age of 12 vaccinated. Caravans have visited remote areas of the country to facilitate those who wished to take the vaccine.

Last Sunday, music trucks advertising vaccinations for the youth made their presence known. Loudspeakers were used to invite young people to give themselves the degree of safety that the vaccine affords.

Infomercials and seminars have been used to disabuse minds of parents and their children of the mass of false and misleading information which continues to dominate the social media.

The fact is that our children cannot continue indefinitely to have only virtual instruction. An examination of the back-to-school experience of other countries which have returned students to their classrooms is useful in our management of the return of our students to this essential aspect of their formation and development.

Vaccinations, constantly repeated safety protocols, careful physical layout of classrooms, dedicated quarantine rooms and the students’ own awareness of the consequences of contracting and possibly of spreading the virus must now become a part of the ‘new normal’ for all school stakeholders.

Students must take responsibility for their own health and the health of others, as far as possible. Surely this is one of the most important life lessons that they can learn, whatever the circumstance that they face.

Perhaps more troubling is the responsibility that schools face for the learning of unvaccinated students of these forms. The need to provide virtual as well as in-person instruction cannot be denied but this is a dilemma which is not easily solved.

As students of other classes are gradually allowed to return to school, the scope of this problem will grow even greater.

School authorities, parents and students must work together as they face the unprecedented challenges that Covid-19 has presented to us.

We pray for divine direction as we tackle these challenges.  Our focus must be on positive outcomes for our students and our educational system.