04 Jun 2020

Parents  of Nyangagbwe Primary School Standard Seven pupils have decried overcrowding in classrooms which violated the social distancing protocol.

Speaking during a tour of the institution on Tuesday, one parent, Ms Onkemetse Gordon felt it was too early for the school to reopen.

 “The school should have solved the issue of pupils crowding in classrooms before it reopened. Crowding puts pupils at risk,” Ms Gordon said.

She, along with other parents, also decried the lack of geysers saying cold water put learners at the risk of getting flu.

Ms Gordon urged parents who were able to buy sanitizers for their children to do so as it could act as a perfect substitute for cold water. 

Parents suggested that  schools should be given more thermometers to be able to cope with pupil populations.

For her part, the school head, Ms Boingotlo Chaba said the school, in conjunction with the Ministry of Basic Education, was working around the clock to ensure total adherence to the social distancing protocol in classrooms.

She stated that in response to the high Standard Seven population, the school management had resolved to have extra classrooms to ease congestion and observe social distancing.

Ms Chaba revealed that the school was expecting to receive more thermometers soon to speed up regular checking of temperatures.

She expressed satisfaction with other measures instituted including recruitment of extra cleaners, a Safety Health and Environment (SHE) officer and installation of water basins.

Ms Chaba was also happy about level of compliance shown by both pupils and the staff by wearing masks. 

Deputy school head, Ms Gloria Sebekwa urged parents to work hand in hand with the school to make sure that pupils complied with precautionary measures. Ends