‘Reopening schools could be a logistical nightmare’, says Principal

Published Apr 25, 2020

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DURBAN - A Durban school principal believes that the re-opening of schools in the aftermath of the the Covid-19 breakout could be a logistical nightmare.

Southlands Secondary principal, Nirend Singh who has spent the last twenty of his thirty three year career at Southlands, says he does not disagree with the importance of reopening schools, however there may be a host of issues that will come with it.

“Just by practicing social distancing at school, we will have issues. Because there is a need for more educators, more class rooms. If I have a class of 35 learners and we only allowed 20 per class, what do I do with the other 15?,” said Singh.

“Schools in general are a hot zone for virus transmissions. We see how the flu moves around because of the numbers. On average schools have around 500 learners, we have around 1000 so imagine the effect,

” he added.

Given the fact that some schools do not have access to proper facilities, Singh hopes the department of education will address this by ensuring they receive sanitisers, masks and other safety measures to combat the virus.

Following the announcement made that people over the age of 60 should remain at home, Singh commented by saying that a number of principals are around that age and could not possibly run a school from their homes.

Whilst continuation of the school year may be a high priority, Singh says that enforcing social distancing outside the classroom may be an insurmountable task to accomplish.

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