Contagion And Classroom
Team KL report about the issues and how the systems are tackling them in the public and private sector
Almost a year after the Covid-19 pandemic struck, primary schools reopened from classes 1 to 5 from Monday, March 15, 2021. KL Image by Bilal Bahadur
On March 1, Arshad Ahmad, a government schoolteacher posted at a Pulwama school was passionate about resuming his duties and teaching the students. He had to enter the classroom exactly after 19 months of lock-down. Conscious of the loss that 19 months entailed for a student, Ahmad wanted to not waste any more time.
The last time he taught his students was August 3, 2019, two days before Article 370 was scrapped. This was followed by six months of security and information lock-down. Then in March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic dictated another lockdown.
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Over one in 10 current COVID-19 cases are children, with the highest number in the 11-17 age group, prompting Church and independent schools to hold out while monitoring the situation closely.
Among the active cases, 83 children are aged up to five years, 85 are between six and 10 and 175 are in the 11-17 age group, adding up to around 12 per cent, according to the Superintendent of Public Health, Charmaine Gauci, who was on Tuesday taking questions from Times of Malta readers.
Last September, before the opening of schools, less than five per cent of those with COVID-19 were children.
The number of infected children was also highlighted in August, when they made up around 1.5 per cent of active cases.
Teachers unions have taken different views on whether schooling should shift online, with the Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) saying it is monitoring the situation on the basis of medical advice, and the Union of Professional Educators (UPE) saying the shift should take place immediately owing to the surge in the number of virus cases.
In a message on YouTube, the executive head of the UPE, Graham Sansone, said that the teachers union is alarmed by the increasing number of COVID-19 cases. He said that he is especially concerned about the new UK variant, which is causing more infections among children.
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He told the Times: Private school head teachers should not be paid more than state school heads. They have bursars to manage a lot of the job a head would tackle in the state sector.
He added: Private school head teachers should not be paid more than state school heads.
Critics have slammed the news with former Chief Inspector of Schools Sir Michael Wilshaw saying the salaries were sucking in more of our state school teachers to the detriment of pupils.
All 200 private schools on the list are registered charities. Pictured Brighton College which has 12 members of staff on at least £100,000 - more than double the amount two years ago