Govt faulted on schools order

Education rights activists have described as ill-timed a Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Cholera directive to delay opening of schools in Blantyre and Lilongwe cities as a measure to contain cholera.

The task force made the announcement on the eve of opening of the second term today, a move that created panic and confusion as some students had already set off for their schools, especially boarders, in the two cities.

In an interview on Monday, education rights activist Benedicto Kondowe said government should have been more proactive on the matter.

He said: “Cholera cases have been on the rise in the country and it is not only Lilongwe and Blantyre cities affected.

“You cannot suspend classes in Lilongwe and Blantyre only and let other districts, where cholera cases are also being about children from Blantyre and Lilongwe who learn in other districts?” reported, open schools. What

Kondowe said government should have conducted vaccination exercises in the schools and implement hygiene measures to allow learning to continue.

He said in a scenario where government would want to close schools due to the outbreak, it would be better to close all schools because that way it will be easy to adjust the school calendar.

Educationist Steve Sharra agreed with Kondowe, saying the timing of the suspension was wrong as it has created confusion.

He said: “My expectation was that they would just draw the same lessons we learnt from the Covid-9 pandemic and the decision should have been based on evidence.

“We need to make sure that schools have systems in place that would allow learning to continue even during crises like these. We cannot handle another prolonged school closure.”

Some parents, who set out to drop their children to boarding schools in the two cities, were forced to make U-turns, some halfway the journey to school, upon learning about the news.

A busload of students heading to Lilongwe Girls Secondary School from Blantyre also returned to Wenela Bus Depot following the news.

One student The Nation found frustrated at Wenela Bus Depot said the bus her school hired was forced to return midway enroute to Lilongwe. She said when she arrived back in Blantyre, she tried in vain to call her parents to come and pick her.

Fighting back tears, the 12-year-old Form One girl said: “My parents left me here, thinking that I have gone to school. Yet because of the suspension of re-opening, our school bus had to turn back. I have heavy luggage and there is no one to take me home.”

Her colleagues shared similar frustrations, saying their food and other perishable items meant for school will go to waste.

“Government should have made the decision known last week,” opined one of the learners as they hugged their school bags and luggage to avoid losing them.

But the task force said it arrived at the decision to delay re-opening of schools in the two cities on Monday morning due to the worsening cholera situation over the past three weeks and rising cholera-related deaths.

However, some observers have questioned the rationale behind the selection of the two cities when other districts such as Mangochi have an equally high number of cases.

Since the onset of the outbreak in March last year, Mangochi has reported the most cases at 4 251 and 85 deaths followed by Blantyre with 2 183 cases and 105 deaths and Salima with 1 796 cases and 49 deaths.

The statement signed by task force co-chairpersons Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda and Dr. Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma, says the opening of both public and private primary and secondary prevent further spread of  the outbreak in schools.

Among the procedures, the ministry banned selling of food in primary and secondary school premises and urged institutions to be alert and immediately refer to the nearest health facility any cases of watery diarrhoea at an institution.

The ministry’s Principal Secretary Chikondano Mussa reminded the public that despite cholera being a deadly disease, it is preventable; hence, the need to follow all the SOPs which she said were in line with public health protocols as provided by the Ministry of Health.

Prevention of cholera, which is caused by a bacterium called vibrio, is through drinking safe water, proper use of toilets, eating uncontaminated food and proper washing of hands with soap.

The cholera incubation period is between two hours to five days, however, infected people can carry and transmit the bacteria for four weeks.

Symptoms include acute watery diarrhoea, profuse vomiting, profuse ‘rice water’ stools, no fever, no abdominal cramps, and dehydration, including loss of body weight, renal failure and death. Recent data from the Ministry of Health shows that on Sunday January 1, the country recorded a total of 366 new cases and 19 new deaths, bringing the total number of registered cases and deaths to 17 824 and 595, respectively.