Some 200,000 secondary school students across the island return to school today after a two-week break. Schools were closed on 27 March 2003 to contain the SARS outbreak here.
Just what is in store for these students when they walk past the school gates? Anxious to calm parents’ fears of their children catching the SARS bug at school, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has been very busy behind the scenes taking steps to ensure the safety of all students at school.
MOE has come up with an educational package to explain to students the importance of personal hygiene and social responsibility in curbing the spread of SARS. To monitor effectively the situation in schools, it has put into place post-school-reopening procedures for schools to follow. Schools here have also been disinfected before their reopening today. Classrooms will certainly smell of lysol - a disinfectant used in hospitals. The disinfecting of classrooms will be a daily routine.
Teachers have not been resting on their laurels either. They have been busy attending meetings and forming groups to process students even before these students go back to school. Over the past few days, teachers have been calling up the parents and guardians of these students to check whether the students are in good health. If a student is not feeling well, the parent/guardian is advised not to let the student come to school. Also, students who have travelled to index countries the past two weeks have been reminded to attend school only when the 10-day quarantine period has expired. Such checks prior to school reopening serve to reduce any risks to the rest of the school population.
So when students walk through the school gates, they can expect to be screened by duty teachers who will be on the outlook for anyone who looks ill. If the teachers sight such students, they will lead them to an appointed area for the students’ temperatures to be taken. And no one, except the students, will be allowed to go through the school gates. Those who have official business will have to fill in a declaration form and be screened before they can come in.
Students who have been found to have a fever during lesson time will be asked to go to a holding room set aside specially to monitor fever cases. In the room, both the student and teacher will adorn disposable masks. If the situation warrants it, the principal or vice-principal will call for an ambulance. So you see, the MOE is not leaving any stone unturned. And the students aren’t the only ones being monitored. Their teachers’ health will also be checked regularly by appointed fellow staff members and teachers will be asked to seek medical attention immediately if they feel unwell during school hours.
Assembly periods for the whole week have been postponed, save for that today. Today, principals will brief students on the SARS situation. Thereafter, these students will attend some programmes arranged by the MOE to educate them on personal hygiene and social responsibility. Recess periods have also been rescheduled. Most schools now have different recess times for each level of students so instead of the usual two recess periods - one for lower level & one for upper level - there are, perhaps, four recesses.
The rationale behind these steps is clear - to avoid situations in which large numbers of students congregate. Students are also not allowed to stay back after their school hours. In fact, CCA and enrichment classes have been postponed indefinitely on the orders of MOE. Some schools which have earlier agreed to participate in extra-school competitions have been prudent enough to back out of these events - their students’ welfare comes first, not glory.
Schools do not expect 100 per cent attendance in the first few days of the week, but, with so many precautions in place, I am sure both parents and guardians will realise that their children are in good hands at school.





