Academics call for ‘real groundwork’ to reopen schools immediately

By Sanath Nanayakkare

Education Forum Sri Lanka headed by co-founders Dr. Tara de Mel and Dr. Sujata Gamage along with more than 20 signatories have written to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, Education Minister Dinesh Gunewardene, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and Ministerial Consultative Committee Members on Education, urging them to take meaningful steps without delay so that school can reopen no sooner than the current wave of the pandemic is on the wane.

This letter followed a similar letter written to the authorities in July 2021.

“We write to draw your attention to the serious situation faced by the 4.3 million student population in this country since March 2020 when the pandemic first hit the country. There has not been any education for them in the last 15 months except for a few weeks when schools opened briefly, with a ‘facade’ of online education received by a few at other times,” they say.

They point out that with a teacher strike or not, schools in Sri Lanka have been closed for over 18 months now due to the ongoing pandemic.

“Even those students who had access to Internet-based education through their teachers constituted only half of the student population. We have also seen the multiple dangers faced by students in remote areas in trying to access the Internet, and we are aware of the risks students may face due to long screen hours. The mental health and emotional issues faced by locked in students compound all above.” they say.

“Opening schools is the only equitable and effective solution for this. All global agencies responsible for education such as UNICEF, UNESCO have recommended that schools should be kept open because of the grave consequences of depriving students of physical education for a painfully long time. A number of countries in the world kept their schools open with multiple safeguards in place, even during dangerous waves of the pandemic. Most remain open even at present. Today there are only about 15 countries where schools are shut. Sri Lanka is one of them.” they say.

“Therefore, we urge to you attend to the following without delay so that school will be ready to open no sooner than the current wave of the pandemic is on the wane.”

“Please expedite double-dose vaccination of all teachers, principals, and school administrators, Initiate vaccination of students between 12 and 18 immediately and order self-test antigen kits.”

“The price of an antigen kit in Britain with seven tests is about two to three pounds, In India, it is reported to be much cheaper. Also, in the UK and several other countries, teachers and children use the self-test a few days a week prior to attending school. If they test positive, they self-isolate.”

“Please do not have the same policy for all schools. Empower provincial, zonal, divisional officers to work with health sector authorities to reopen and keep smaller schools open. This can be done on a staggered basis starting with a few classes at a time.”

“Please use this opportunity to identify essential learning outcomes in the curriculum so that a leaner and less stressful curriculum suitable for the prevailing conditions are in place as soon as possible.”

“Let Sri Lanka not make the mistake of overestimating the usefulness of closing schools and underestimate the socio-economic fallout of closing schools.” they say.

Meanwhile, in their previous letter to the

authorities titled ‘ The Covid Education Crisis’ written in all three languages, they had listed some of the grave consequences of long-term school closures.

“Due to an undue reliance on online education, more than half of the children are left out of contact with their schools. Left without guidance, teachers have adopted social media such as WhatsApp to send out notes and assignments connecting with whoever they could, even though the Census Department reported in 2019 that only 29% of the population had access to the Internet. Further, a survey of teachers representing large and small schools across all 25 districts carried out by the Education Forum Sri Lanka in November 2020 revealed that on average teachers were able to give a real-time classroom experience using software such as Zoom to only 5% of their students and another 40% were contacted via social media, leaving 55% without any contact. Some schools used adhoc methods to share printed material with their students.”

“With no instructions to manage a heavy curriculum under these extraordinary conditions, teachers are rushing to cover the syllabus. Zoom fatigue is causing even the small percentage of children who are online to switch off from any learning, making online education a mere facade.”

“All children face loss of learning and mental, physical, and emotional issues after being isolated for 15 months and more.”

“Students who have been stuck at home for long without physical interaction with friends and the simplest of activities at school face emotional problems, mental health issues, and even depression. These anxieties are compounded by the fear of facing national examinations, which are competitive and highly stressful. Also, not all home environments are safe for children. For some children, school is often the place where they find a respite. Isolated due to Covid-19, children have no escape from family conflicts and even violence, and some cases they suffer physical, emotional, and sexual abuse,” they say.

In this context, they urge the authorities to consider the above proposals with the seriousness it deserves and to implement the measures with urgency.

The signatories to the letter were Ms. Angela Wijesinghe, President, All Ceylon Union of Teachers, Ms. Ramanie Jayaweera, All Ceylon Union of English Teachers, Wasantha Dharmasiri, Association of Education Professionals, Prof. Shyama Banneheka, President – Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA), Somabandu Kodikara, Principal, D.S.Senanayake College, Colombo (Former), Ms. Hiranya Fernando, Principal, Methodist College, Rev. Marc Billimoria, Warden St. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia, Andrew Fowler-Watt, Principal, Trinity College (former), Ms. Shanthi Dias, Principal, Methodist College (former), Ms Shanthi Wijesinghe, Director, Seekers Pre-School, Ms Kumudini Nanayakkara, Director, Training Centre for Montessori Teachers, Rev. S. Philip.Nesakumar, Headmaster, St Thomas’ College, Gurutalawa, Lakshman Nonis, Science Educator, Murtaza Esufally, Co-founder, Learn for Life Lanka, Heminda Jayaweera, Cofounder, Venture Frontier Lanka, Murtaza Jafferjee, Chairman, Advocata Institute, Prof. Rohan Samarajiva, Chairman, LIRNEasia, Ms. Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Managing Director, Sanasa International, Amar Goonatileka, CEO, Marga Institute, Rev. Duleep de Chickera, Anglican Bishop, Colombo (former), Ms. Ruwanthie de Chickera, Playwright and Theatre Director, Raga Alphonsus, Activist, Mannar, Anushka Wijesinghe, Economist, Dr. Januka Attanayake, Research Fellow, U of Melbourne, Ms. Kavindya Tennekoon, Social-Emotional Learning Researcher; Founder, Without Borders, Ms. Evan Shanthini Ekanayake, Psychologist, H.D.Gunawardena, Retired Company Chairman & Eisenhower Fellow, Ms. Dilani Alagaratnam, Attorney-at-law, Dr. Ajith Amarasinghe, Consultant Paediatrician,Dr Susie Perera, DDG, Ministry of Health and Eisenhower Fellow, Dr Ruvaiz Haniffa, President of the Sri Lanka Medical Association (former) ,Dr. D. C. Ambalavanar, Faculty of Medicine, Jaffna, Dr. Mahim Mendis, Open University Sri Lanka, Prof. Saumya Liyanage, University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo , Prof. Priyan Dias, University of Moratuwa , Dr. Thaiyamuthu Thanaraj, Professor, OUSL (former) , Prof. Shamala Kumar, University of Peradeniya, Sulakshana de Mel, Governing Council, Women’s Education and Research Centre