Ministry of Education’s operational plans to contain spread of COVID-19 |16 May 2020

PS De Comarmond leading one of the training sessions (Photo: Jude Morel)

Staff get training ahead of re-opening of schools on Monday

With the re-opening of most schools on Monday 18, 2020, the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development held two training sessions for teachers, wardens, security personnel and other staff as part of its operational plans with regard to preparedness, precautionary and preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in its institutions.

The two training sessions held at the Seychelles Institute for Teacher Education (Site) in the presence of the principal secretary for early childhood, primary and secondary education, Dr Odile de Comarmond, and the principal secretary for higher education and human resource development, Dr Linda Barallon, were in line with guidelines and directives given by the department of health, so as to prevent a second wave of COVID-19 infection in the country.

Designated teachers of primary and secondary schools, professional centres and identified staff from the ministry were given training in health screening especially in regards to the use of thermometers.

Apart from learning how to correctly use a gun thermometer, the teachers and staff were also imparted with knowledge on its operation in various locations and ambient temperatures of these locations among other health related matters including proper sanitising and care, COVID-19 prevention measures, maintaining and improving social distancing principles, various factors and causes of high body temperature among others, by officials from the health department.

The demonstration on the use of the thermometers was done by Ralph Philoe, nurse in charge of emergency preparedness and respond unit, Seychelles Hospital.

Most of the participants claimed the gun thermometer is not complicated to use as one has to, apart from the benefit of the training, follow the manual instruction.

Before the start of the session, the schools – based on their sizes – were presented with a certain number of thermometers, by both principal secretaries.

Earlier in the morning, representatives from the twenty security firms and selected school wardens, from Mahé, Praslin and La Digue, were presented with new working methods to be implemented in schools in relation to vigilance, physical and vehicle control, social distancing, and hygiene. The training was facilitated by Joachim Pillay, security manager in the ministry and the director for health and safety, Regina Prosper.

The ministry has introduced a new visitor’s control policy thus there will be more control at school’s entrances. As front liners, the security officers manning the entrances will be asking visitors for their names and addresses, identification cards, contacts, destination among others, including recording of their temperatures for access to school premises. They will be assisted by the wardens upon completion of their duties in assisting the children’s safety on the road including further to assistance from the school’s health screening team. Children, teachers and other staff will also be screened as those considered to be sick will be asked to stay at home.

According to Joachim Pillay, the security officers, working collaboratively with the management, will apart from being responsible for controlling and limiting access of outsiders on the schools’ premises, including recording temperatures, they will also see that social distancing is maintained on the premises at all time while also being vigilant on suspected cases among other security matters.

Mr Pillay said apart from quick patrols, the security officers, working from 6am to 6pm, will be stationed at the gate which will remain closed at all time. A gate will be identified as the main entrance for schools with more than one entrance and permitted visitors will have to sanitise their hands before entering the schools’ compounds. He said that according to their sizes, most schools have two to four security officers at any one time.

Most of the security firms’ representatives said that they are used to crowd controlling but now they will have their officers to be more alert on identifying suspected cases and also on maintaining the social distancing as required.

Ms Prosper later said that the importance of those training sessions was to make sure that the ministry was in line with procedures and guidelines given by the health department.

She noted that with the assistance of the department of health, it will allow the schools to better implement their COVID-19 strategies on their own.

Patrick Joubert