Parents can now visit their children at boarding schools on specified visiting days with immediate effect, although schools should continue carrying out Covid-19 preventive and hygiene measures including strict hand washing and temperature checks, Primary and Secondary Education Secretary Mrs Tumisang Thabela has announced.
Visits to boarding schools were banned when schools returned in 2021 following the start of Covid-19 which disrupted physical learning and forced all schools to tighten up preventative measures, including guarding pupils against contact.
Schools had to make sure, if necessary by using more classrooms, hotseating or through having classes split so pupils came on different days, to ensure that desks were at lest 1m apart.
Traditionally, boarding schools have set visiting days during the term where children could be visited by their families and interact for a day, and it was these visits that were banned.
The Primary and Secondary Secretary issued a circular on the resumption of organised parental visits to boarding schools referring to the Cabinet decision on May 9, 2023 accepting that the World Health Organisation no longer considered Covid-19 constituting a public health emergency of international concern.
Mrs Thabela said in line with the Government position, on June 9, 2023 the Ministry of Health and Child Care issued a circular allowing the lifting of Covid-19 containment measures.
Among the measures include restriction of both local and foreign travel, home quarantine, screening of travellers, isolation of cases, supervision of burials, disinfection of premises, and other standard operating procedures which assisted the country in reducing the spread and impact of the pandemic.
“In view of the foregoing, the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has revised its position on parental visits to children at boarding schools. With immediate effect, heads of schools are allowed to resume the previous practice of organised parental visits to schools.
“The Ministry however, will maintain temperature screening; strict hand-washing, availability of clean water, and high standards of sanitation and hygiene at every learning institution as permanent measures for mitigating against any communicable and influenza-like diseases in our schools,” said Mrs Thabela.
She also said as directed by the Cabinet, vaccination activities at all schools should continue. Children aged 12 and above can and should be vaccinated. – The Herald
