Govt sticks to school delay decision

Cabinet ministers on Tuesday took turns to justify the decision to postpone the opening of schools in Lilongwe and Blantyre cities as a measure to contain the spread of cholera.

Minister of Health Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda told journalists during a press conference themed ‘Why tough decisions have to be made’ in Lilongwe that the decision was based on the balance of protection of human life and continuity of learning where the former outweighed the latter.

“In the past seven days, Blantyre has registered 792 new cases and 36 deaths while Lilongwe alone has registered 506 new cases and 36 deaths as well. The two cities have contributed 47 percent of the total new cases and 53 percent of deaths registered across the country in the last seven days,” she said.

But the Private Schools Association of Malawi (Prisam) has maintained that there is no evidence that students are at increased risk of contracting cholera while at school than at home, arguing the decision disadvantages students in examination classes.

During the briefing, Chiponda, who is also co-chairperson of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Cholera, was accompanied by Minister of Education Agnes NyaLonje, Minister of Water and Sanitation Abida Mia, Minister of Labour Vera Kamtukule and Minister of National Unity Timothy Mtambo.

NyaLonje said her ministry has laid out plans to use remedial lessons such as the Open Distance and e-Learning (ODeL) for examination classes.

“We have everything in place and our ODeL Centre is fully operational. We also have other platforms through which we will keep providing lessons to the affected students so that they are not left behind,” said the minister.

NyaLonje said the ministries of Education and Health will use the two-week extension to assess water and sanitation needs in schools, facilitate reconnection of disconected water due to accumulated bills and provide sanitary facilities.

The press briefing was held in reaction to a public outcry, mostly on social media, on why only two districts were singled out when the whole country has been affected by cholera.

Reacting to the decision, Prisam vice-chairperson Patricia Chisi argued that there is no evidence that students are more at risk of contracting cholera at school than at home.

She said: “This decision is a setback to students studying in the two cities especially those who are set to sit for their Primary School Leaving Certificate examinations, Junior Certificate examinations and the Malawi School Certificate of Education.”

Education experts Benedicto Kondowe and Steve Sharra also blamed the government for being reactive to a matter which has been on record throughout 2022.

On where the country stands as regards travel restrictions following reported Covid-19 cases in China, Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 and Cholera co-chairperson Dr. Wilfred Chalamira Nkhoma said all travel guidelines outlined during the peak of Covid-19 in the country are still in force despite that other guidelines were eased.

Out of the six World Health Organisation regions, namely America, Asia and Western Pacific are reportedly recording rising cases of Covid-19 while cases in the other three, namely Africa, South East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean have stagnated.

Chalamira Nkhoma said the taskforce will continue monitoring both global and regional trends regarding Covid-19.

As of January 2 2023, 18 222 cholera cases and 620 deaths have been reported since the onset of the outbreak in March last year with the fatality rate at 3.4 percent, which is higher than the recommended rate of less than one percent.