 The owners of private schools are developing their own measures to
prevent the spread of swine flu when the academic year resumes on 3
October
Possible courses of action include shortening the school week,
employing “E-learning," recruiting parent volunteers, and sanitizing
buses and classrooms.
School officials may also acquire thermometers and perfumed handkerchiefs to help fight the spread of the disease. They are also developing a plan in case the virus continues to spread.
Officials are developing these plans in the wake of a swine flu outbreak at a private school in Alexandria. The Alexandria outbreak caused a sense of horror among parents in Cairo, especially those who spend lavishly on their children’s educations.
Ahmed Ragaei Attiya, the manager of a private school, says the first measure at his institution will be improving sanitization. He plans to purchase atomizers to sanitize classrooms and school buses.
The number of students inside the classroom, which usually stands at around 24 students, will be scaled down, he says. He will also compel teachers to wear protection masks and encourage the students to do the same.
The Ministry of Health provides schools with visits from a doctor three times a week, but Attiya has hired another at the school's expense to perform daily checks on students and employees. He is also set to activate E-learning techniques.
Ahmed el-Ganzoury, representative of private schools owners in el-Salam district, unveiled a disagreement between both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education over whether to postpone the school year or cancel it till the virus abates. The Health Ministry demands postponement while the Education Ministry rejects the suggestion.
El-Ganzoury says that shrinking the school week is now the only option to counter the virus. He says that a recent meeting of educational and healthy authorities agreed to form a committee chaired by a coordinator between the school, the education department and the Ministry of Health. The committee will be in charge of direct contact with responsible authorities in the event that flu cases are discovered.
"We decided to divide the study day at schools with high density into two periods, and advised parents to provide each student with a towel, a cup, and a perfumed handkerchief," he said. “We are also asking students to drink anise before going to school."
El-Mandouh el-Husseiny, president of the Association of Private Schools, suggested that parents who work as doctors volunteer to work one day a week in private schools checking on students and thus guaranteeing the presence of a doctor on a daily basis. El-Husseiny also recommends devoting a hot-line to syllabus-related questions in the event that schools are closed again.
In the district of Tagammu el-Khamis, a school principal, who requested anonymity, stressed that she will keep her school’s system unchanged. The principal says she had put in place a number of preemptive health measures before the appearance of swine flu.
She said that her school already had more than 15 doctors in place and already provides students with flu vaccines at the start of each year. Nonetheless, her school held a meeting with parents recently about flu prevention.
“That is to assure that we are giving attention to the issue and that we are not ignorant of what happened in Alexandria and the horror that befell some families," she said.
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