MIXED FEELINGS AS BOARDERS RETURN TO HOSTELS

MBULUZI – Boarders were the first to embrace the ‘new normal’. As schools reopen today, boarders at Mbuluzi and St Mark’s high schools arrived in numbers as they were dropped off by their parents to prepare for the first day of schools reopening following the COVID-19 outbreak, which forced schools to close in March.

It was excitement for others, while some were worried and kept to themselves. Registration was conducted at the gates instead of the hostels, where the boarders were first sanitised and screened.

At St Mark’s High School, the boarders were told to choose their rooms where they would be sharing in a group of three, while at Mbuluzi, they entered the hall where they were first sensitised on COVID-19 and told how to conduct themselves.

Interview

In an interview with Mbuluzi  Head teacher Siza Dlamini, he said preparations for the reopening of schools were complete.
Dlamini said they noted the fear among some of the pupils, which was natural for human beings, especially when they were encountering a new environment.
Dlamini said the hostel and eating area had been demarcated for social distancing and hand-washing stations had been prepared at designated areas around the school.

He said an isolation area, which would take up a capacity of four pupils, had been prepared at the hostel should they have a suspected case. Dlamini said suspected cases would be handed over to the Ministry of Health, which had also assured them that it would respond swiftly.

Screened

Meanwhile, he said boarders would join the rest of the pupils in the morning where they would be screened before being admitted to classes. However, he said the hostel would have its own thermo scanner to screen pupils in the evening and during weekends.
The boarders are expected to share a room, where they will be in groups of four. They will be using bunk beds, which will be sanitised by the matron when they leave the hostel in the morning.

According to the senior matron, Nelisiwe Dlamini, the room was big enough to accommodate up to four pupils and allow social distancing to be also observed. She said the rules were clear on issues of sharing toiletries, something they would closely monitor.
Further, she noted that all classrooms had been provided with sanitisers to be used by the pupils.

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