‘Open schools with all preventive measures in place’ By Kumudini Hettiarachchi and Ruqyyaha Deane Benefits of getting children back to class far outweigh the risks – Prof. Pujitha Wickramasinghe View(s): View(s):It is time to open the schools as soon as possible, reiterated a senior academic and child specialist this week. “When the risk-benefit ratio is considered, the benefits of throwing open the gates of schools with all precautions in place far outweigh the risks. Therefore, the stress should be on preventive measures and opening of schools, he adds. The breakdown is: v 5,184 schools have fewer than 200 children (total of 470,451students) v 2,660 schools have between 200-500 children (total of 853,728students) v 1,390 schools have between 500-1,000 children (total of 962,494 students) v 642 schools have between 1,000-2,000 children (total of 880,607 students) v 203 schools have between 2,000-3,000 children (total of 490,161 students) v 91 schools have between 3,000-4,000 children (total of 312,290 students) v 50 schools have more than 4,000 children (total of 245,041 students) Meanwhile, another important point he raises is that in 7,940 schools of the 10,175 schools, a meal is provided to nearly 1.1 million children, while nearly 400,000 children in 932 schools are covered by the milk programme. “Sadly, when schools are closed, nearly 1.5 million children are deprived of this valuable nutrition,” laments Prof. Wickramasinghe.

Source: Sunday Observer September 26, 2021 00:56 UTC