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UPROAR AS PUPIL COVID-19+, ANOTHER ISOLATED

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MANZINI – Parents of pupils at Ngcoseni Central High School have been angered after a pupil tested positive for COVID-19 following contact tracing at the pupil’s home.

The parents, whose children were sent home from school yesterday morning, have accused the school of being negligent with their children’s lives. This was after the school reported that a pupil tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. According to the parents, last Friday the school had instructed all pupils to return to class on Monday, despite that the Ministry of Education and Training had stipulated that there would be rotational learning in all schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The following day (Tuesday), it is believed that the pupil tested positive for the coronavirus. Worth noting is that in March this year, the Acting Prime Minister, Themba Masuku, announced that schools would open for the current academic year on March 29, 2021 and pupils would learn on a rotational basis. Some of the parents alleged that they were fearful that their children may have already contracted the virus from their schoolmate, after the pupil tested positive following the contact tracing conducted at the pupil’s home, which revealed that a family member had contracted COVID-19, thus infected the pupil.

Another

It is further alleged that another pupil, after the school learned of the COVID-19 positive learner, was isolated in accordance with the stipulated COVID-19 regulations. One parent, whose child is in Form III and requested to comment on condition of anonymity, stated that she was afraid of the risk that her child was in, after coming in contact with the infected pupil, who is in Form IV. The parent alleged that when the pupils arrived at school, they were only made to clean the classrooms before they were instructed to go home so that the school could be fumigated. She stated that as parents, they had a right to address their concerns about the issue, given that the school had failed to abide by the regulations stipulated by the Ministry of Education and Training.

The mother further alleged that the school had not implemented the rotational learning schedule, just like many other schools, where only Form III and Form V pupils attended classes from Monday to Friday. The school’s Head teacher, Gcinumuzi Dlamini, refuted the allegations that the school had not implemented rotational learning, stating that the school had followed the guidelines stipulated by the ministry. Dlamini said since the school learned of the positive COVID-19 case, the pupil was sent home as well as the rest of the other pupils. This was after the school underwent the fumigation exercise, according to the regulations. He added that the school communicated this with the pupils, and added that the school would be expecting pupils to return to class this morning.

On the other hand, Manzini Regional Education Officer (REO) Nhlanhla Dlamini confirmed that the school had reported a case of a pupil who tested positive for COVID-19. He stated that when schools opened in March this year, teachers underwent a vigorous COVID-19 training exercise in order to prepare for such cases. The REO clarified that the school, upon learning that a pupil had tested positive for COVID-19, followed the recommended processes stipulated by the Ministry of Health, as well as the Ministry of Education and Training. “All the processes were followed by the school, so there is no reason for the parents to worry. These protocols specify all the processes that need to be undertaken as soon as such issues arise. The main objective is to protect the pupils at all costs,” he said.

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