By Yunus S Saliu
The Ministries of Health and Basic Secondary School and Education has almost completed arrangement for the resumption of Grade 9 which due to return back to school 24th June 2020 after about three months break due to the declared State of Public Health Emergency.
The State of Public Health Emergency was declared by the government of the Gambia to control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
In a brief interview about the readiness, Momodou Njie, Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health told The Voice about the work plan of Ministry of Health and Ministry of Basic Secondary and Education towards the resumption.
However, 4th June, The Gambia government relaxes some Covid-19 restrictions and indicated among the relaxations that ‘all Grade 9 students will benefit from the relaxation of these restrictions to be formally announced by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education at a later date.”
Among the plans which already put in place for the reopening according to Director of Health Promotion and Education at the Ministry of Health include emphasis on screening of students, teachers, non-academic staff and even food vendors and others that have work to do in any of the schools that accommodate Grade 9 pupils.
He explained further that before the opening (scheduled) date all needed facilities such as hand washing facilities, toiletries, thermometers, face masks, water among others are already in place. Also, “the Ministry Health will further provide locally made masks at least two pairs per child so that they will be able to use, change and wash,” he disclosed.
The Director went on that the MoH will continue working with the MoBSE to build/change the capacity of the classrooms, teachers and even those that are coming to sell in these schools including parents on Covid-19 “to enable them aware of the existing of the virus and reasons while MoBSE is opening schools.”
He added that schools must open but before open all schools there are things that must be in place like “the issues of observing social distancing in schools, while there will be rearrangement of students in the classroom to the minimum level of twenty-five students per classroom.”
MoBSE, he affirmed, “is really working very hard and the health sector is able to work with them to develop guidelines and protocols which they have adhered to and to also strengthen the functional system in schools and intensify on the strategies, guidelines.”
Director Njie confirmed that almost all the schools for the Grade 9 students across the country are already fumigated which included Gambia High, Muslim High, Farafenni Senior Secondary Schools. He pointed out that the Ministry has different fumigation teams across the entire regions in the country working simultaneously to disinfect every part of the schools for Grade 9 students that are resuming 24th June.