In the wake of an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in two government schools in Karnataka on Friday, managements of government and private schools are stepping up monitoring to ensure that their campuses do not become clusters.
Many managements said they were willing to bear the cost of vaccination for their teachers.
Mansoor Ali Khan, member, board of management, Delhi Public Group of Schools, said that they have been conducting COVID-19 tests for their teachers once a month since their schools reopened in January. “From now on, we will conduct tests on teachers and our staff every fortnight to ensure that our students and staff are protected,” he said.
D. Shashi Kumar, General Secretary of Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said that he would advise managements to bear the cost of vaccination. “Ideally, it is the responsibility of the government to bear the cost and ensure that teachers are vaccinated. But as this has not been done, we have asked schools to take up this responsibility and bear at least 50 % of the cost,” he said.
Dakshayini Kanna, principal of Harvest International School, said while staff and students are screened on campus, they are also planning to instruct parents to monitor their children for flu-like symptoms before they leave for school. “All teachers who are above 45 years and have co-morbidities are being encouraged to get themselves vaccinated. Schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education are planning to have an online meeting to discuss best practices to safeguard the health of students,” she said.
Meanwhile, officials are monitoring the situation at the two schools – one in Bengaluru and the other in Kalagi in Kalaburagi district – where the clusters were reported.
V. Anbu Kumar , Commissioner for Public Instruction, said that the department has asked Deputy Directors of Public Instruction to ensure that they report all COVID-19 cases. “We have sought a report from officials on the cause of the clusters in the two schools,” he said.
