The Parent Teachers’ Association, PTA has pledged to support government measures put in place for an effective resumption of schools on June 1 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The national executive bureau of the PTA made the pledge at the weekend during a press conference to present the measures which they are taking to ensure children remain safe if and when schools resume on June 1.

“We want to ensure our children and teachers remain safe in school and we will support all the measures taken by government to ensure safety in our schools,” Patric Marius Ondobo, National President of the PTA said.

To this effect, the national bureau of the PTA has taken a series of measures, notably the acquisition of face masks for all pupils and students which will be made available in schools. The PTA also proposed that government should assign to each sub division a unique colour of face masks in order ensure uniformity and avoid disorder in schools.

In the national executive of the PTA said hand-washing buckets will be made available in all schools across the country while containers that could take up to 100 litres of hand sanitizers will equally be placed at the entrance of every school.

“All these (hygiene) measures must be respected by teachers and parents as well as the various local PTA bureaus in order to save the lives of children in school. All the measures taken come to add to those that previously existed like the clean school initiative and the video surveillance all put in place by the government,” Patric Marius Ondodo, National President of the PTA said.

Among other measures the Parent Teachers Association is proposing are the provision of sanitizers in each class room, the respect of social distancing measure, systematic temperature tests every mornings and afternoons.

They equally proposed that breaks should be done in shifts as well as avoid clusters of students during this period while measures should be taken around school campuses to ensure business comply with the hygiene and sanitation measures. Schools will equally be disinfected every Saturday afternoon as well as a proper disinfection of trash cans on a daily basis, the PTA said.

The PTA all the measures put in place to keep schools safe from the COVID-19 will only be effective with the help of discipline masters who will be the main persons concerned with the implementation.

However, the fight against the COVID-19 is a collective effort and the PTA thus called on all, especially transporters to help protect the children by not over loading as recommended by the government.