The reopening was postponed by five weeks as a precautionary measure to curb the spread of the highly contagious disease.

International aid organisation Save the Children has expressed concern saying the health crisis poses a significant threat to children's education and safety comparable to the challenges witnessed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Joe Musonda, the Country Director for Save the Children expressed relief that the decision was taken to reopen schools.

“It's a progressive move and it deserves a long commendation because children have missed five weeks of schooling so far. So it was important, though, to make sure that the schools were cleared as safe for, for reopening. It's been a combined effort between the government, non-governmental organisation, volunteers, etcetera, to make sure that the schools are ready for and safe to reopen. And so we've been really encouraged to see that there's been a lot of measures put in place to make sure that both the learners and the staff are protected as they go back to school” said Musonda.

He says he expects vigilance and adherence, from school authorities to public health measures and safety protocols.

“It's not just a case of getting the schools ready for reopening but that needs constant monitoring by both the Ministry of Health and the local government authorities to make sure that schools remain sanitary and safe for all of the learners there.

She says it was difficult to totally quantify the effect of missing five weeks of learning, “but it's a significant length of time. It's about half a school terms worth of learning that have been lost. So we are concerned, certainly particularly in certain grades, that entry level grades such as the early childhood. And grade one, even the later grades in eight and ten who have not even reported yet for their classes. In addition, those who are in examination classes will be under a lot of pressure right now to catch up”.

--ChannelAfrica--