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The school calendar for most kindergartens, colleges and universities is scheduled to begin over the next 3 weeks and many students are looking forward to what classes will be like in 2021.
However, given the worrying occupation of UCI in Bogotá – which today stood at 94% -, the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá will maintain the hospital red alert until the number of patients who need these beds is reduced and the contagion in the capital decreases.
As a consequence of that, the quarantines sectorized by localities arrived, which will go until next January 28, and also the order so that the classes are kept completely in virtuality, at least in the first days of the year.
In one of the last press conferences that Mayor Claudia López did before the end of 2020, she said that one of her priorities for this year would be to return to school, since the development and learning of many children and young people have been seriously affected. However, the idea had to be postponed for at least a few more weeks.
In a conversation with Pulzo, the Secretary of Education, Edna Bonilla, indicated that until mid-January there were almost 800 educational institutions of all levels authorized to receive young people back in the classrooms.
However, it was clear that all of these and the others who want to comply with the qualification process “will begin face-to-face when the indicators improve” and, furthermore, that “it will not be possible to have 100% of children simultaneously ”.
This means that each institution will receive a certain number of children, depending on the physical capacity of its facilities. Each institution will have its capacity, the return will not be mandatory.
As seen in the video that opens this note, that is one of the first requirements, but among the doubts of the families there is also that of the biosecurity elements that students must have to meet your end of the protocols. About that, Bonilla explained to this medium:
“For the children of the public schools we have already made the purchase of all the face masks, in a washable textile material. Teachers will also be given biosecurity supplies ”.
Parents and students must bear in mind that the protocols that have been used throughout the pandemic do not disappear and, on the contrary, they must be more rigorous with them: hand washing, distancing and the use of a mask.
Given that, the official indicated in a Facebook Live with Pulzo that 20,000 million pesos were invested in adaptations to the infrastructure of the schools. For example, repairs were made in bathrooms, in classrooms, in recreation spaces for children and in signage, in order to have clear rules in each authorized area.
If the parents have Questions about whether or not your children’s school is authorized, you can consult the list on the page of the Secretary of Education of Bogotá. Additionally, Bonilla assured that his office is working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health to make inspection and surveillance visits to ensure compliance with the protocols.
What happens if a child is infected with coronavirus at school? What responsibility does the institution have?
This is a scenario that many families fear, either because the students themselves have comorbidities or because they live with someone who has them or is part of the other at-risk populations.
When in doubt, Secretary Bonilla said that it is a possibility that they do not rule out and, on the contrary, they are sure that these cases will be presented:
“We are aware that when a child or teacher passes the school door, they are not automatically vaccinated. What do we commit to? To ensure that the school is complying with the protocols. When could there be responsibility? When protocols were omitted; but if they were met, it is a normal risk of the virus ”.
Bonilla said in the dialogue with this medium that she trusts that schools and universities will be the “pedagogical spaces that teach how to live with the coronavirus”, but she was emphatic that she cannot guarantee that there will be no infections.
Therefore, he said that they will try to anticipate and prevent them by doing tracing and seroprevalence studies that allow establishing risk factors in educational settings.
Once the red alert is lifted, the District expects the 399 official schools to open their doors, guaranteeing biosecurity conditions, and providing “physical and emotional well-being to the nearly 800,000 students.”
Regarding the private ones, Bonilla indicated that he hopes that all the institutions move towards a safe reopening and guarantee the right to education of children and young people in the capital.
- Self care: keep your distance, wear masks properly, wash your hands.
- Be attentive to possible symptoms. If the student and teacher show any discomfort, refrain from going to school.
- Invite others to adhere to the protocols.
- Permanently clean the objects that are used in the classes.
- Disinfect all school supplies with alcohol.
- Each student must be attentive to his personal hygiene.
- Do not leave suitcases on the ground or in places prone to acquiring bacteria or viruses.
- Avoid physical contact with partnes. Find recreational activities that do not require contact.
- When you return home you must disinfect all items which he took to class, change his clothes and wash it, and wash his hands.
- If the mask is made of cloth, it must be washed and then put in boiling water for a minute.
Secretary of Education explains the return to classes in 2021
These are the statements by Edna Bonilla in which she also spoke about whether the cost of tuition will go down for the school season that is about to begin, the virtuality of classes, among others:
