AN APPEAL FOR CONSCIOUS AND PRAGMATIC DECISION ON CALLS FOR CLOSURE OF SCHOOLS
CSEC’s Position on Covid and the Closure of Schools
The Civil Society Education Coalition (CSEC) wishes to express its opinion on this matter following the calls for closure of schools in the face of the reported surge in Covid cases. There have been recent calls by some quarters is recommending that schools among others should be closed with immediate effect.
We, at CSEC, acknowledge that Malawi is at war, and these unprecedented times call for nothing but conscious and pragmatic decisions to deal with the pandemic for both the present and posterity. We deeply convey our condolences to the nation, families and friends who have lost their beloved relatives to the pandemic. We pray that their souls should rest in peace!
While appreciating the above concerns, anxieties, grief and the moral duty that we all have towards the nation to fight Covid-19, we would like raise some of the fundamental foundations upon which any meaningful decisions should be made in respect of the calls for closure of schools.
Firstly, we are of the view that any decision to close schools should be based on evidence/data that gives us a full account of the potential risk of maintaining schools. This is why, we support the idea that there should be a rapid assessment by the Presidential Taskforce on Covid-19 for informed decision making. In the same context, education sector disaster cluster should also examine how the current efforts in the
schools have fared in the face of the pandemic in order to guide on strategies moving forward.
Secondly, while the State has the duty to protect life, it must be acknowledged that it still has the duty to protect all other rights, including the right to education. This would entail providing proper safeguards in order to protect the right to education. It is on this basis that greater attention should be made to intensify and enforce the preventive measures, risk management and containment of the pandemic. We believe that every effort should be made to make schools safe by providing more resources and health surveillance support. We therefore applaud institutions that are practicing temporal closures to allow for disinfection as a short term measure, even in cases where a student or staff has tested positive or indeed died. This allows learning to continue as the situation is being monitored.
Thirdly, dependent on the state of affairs, it would be worthwhile to consciously consider the following:
a) That in keeping the schools open, there’s need for decongestion, employment of double shifting and strict compliance to health guidelines. This can work if we increase the labour force and infrastructure. In this instance, Government will need to recruit additional teachers, provide tents or temporary learning structures. Further, close monitoring of cases is required, and education institutions should have access to testing facilities to allow for periodic and random testing to monitor the situation. In case a teacher or a student is found positive, testing should be intensified followed by determination of whether the institution should remain open or be closed temporally. There is also need to continuously update school managers and teachers on Covid management as there are gaps in knowledge among some school managers and teachers on the pandemic.
b) That if schools are to close depending on the severity of Covid-19 infections, in case of partial or full lock down, the closure should be gradual and pragmatic. We
are of the view that government should allow Form Four students who are sitting for their examinations and all those who are about to finish their academic year to wind up without disruption. In addition, closure should be geographic in that schools in the most impacted areas should be targeted first rather than using a single incidence to close all schools across the country. As a country, we can help such affected schools on a case by case basis to catch up using different strategies and modes. Appreciating the shortfalls of radio and online learning to reach all learners, there will be need to look into distance learning or self -paced learning by having resource packs which can be used at home in order to guarantee continued education.
As well, Government will have to seriously put in place measures to safeguard learners from social challenges such as the unprecedented number of pregnancies that were recorded during the first closure of schools as a result of Covid. We will expect Government to work with stakeholders to engage the learners, parents, guardians and communities at large to curb any potential social breakdown as a result of the school closures and this will require multi-sectoral approach.
In conclusion, we reiterate that closure of schools should be informed by data to determine the cumulative damage to the system and the children. It’s a tough decision to make but should be the very last resort after we try intensive prevention, risk mitigation and containment measures. This is a very serious decision that requires extensive consultations, deep analysis and sober thinking. Hence, we support the direction that five ministries should bang heads before advising the Presidential Taskforce.
Thus, the abrupt closure of schools as other quarters are proposing without being pragmatic will be disastrous and have dire consequences that will be irrecoverable for decades to come. We trust that every Malawian will play his or her part in the fight against Covid-19. Should the situation merit closure of schools, we urge all Malawians to have belief in the counsel from our medical experts, and continue to support our children
affected by such a decision in our homes as we have done before. CSEC will continue to monitor the situation and engage with the relevant authorities.
