Oshakati school suspends face-to-face learning … again

IIPUMBU Senior Secondary School at Oshakati has suspended face-to-face learning for five days after 31 pupils at the school tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

The acting director of education in the Oshana region, Hilma Nuunyango-George, confirmed the suspension of face-to-face learning this week.

She said 31 pupils tested positive for the novel coronavirus last week, while 45 others showed Covid-19 symptoms.

Nuunyango-George said pupils who tested positive were isolated in the school hostel, and boarding pupils have been placed under quarantine.

She said none of the pupils are critically ill.

However, according to two teachers at the school, two female pupils were very sick on Friday and were picked up by an ambulance in the morning.

Nuunyango-George said to curb the spread of Covid-19, the school works hand in hand with the Ministry of Health and Social Services to sanitise the premises.

“The principal has told us they are coping. This is the only school in the region with a high number of Covid-19-positive cases […] other schools have reported few cases,” she said.

Teachers at the school claim they were forced to keep teaching before the suspension of face-to-face classes. They believe this has exposed them to Covid-19.

Some teachers also claim the school’s hostel staff members are not taking proper care of the pupils as they allow pupils who have tested positive to mingle with others.

The teachers claim cleaners at the school are also exposed to Covid-19, because they do not have access to personal protective equipment.

School principal Paavo Kamtukwata refused to disclose the number of pupils who have contracted the virus. He said he is only allowed to share information about the school with the approval of the education director’s office.

This is the second time the school has been closed down due to Covid-19.

Parents of pupils at the school want their children to be released from the school to allow the school to be disinfected.

They are also asking that the teachers, day pupils and institutional workers isolate at their houses and that the school be closed down for two weeks.