The Dubai Knowledge and Human Development Authority, in coordination with the relevant government agencies in the emirate of Dubai, has identified 118 precautions to reopen private schools in the emirate, in order to protect students for the next academic year from the emerging infection of the Corona virus.
The "Procedures for Opening Dubai Private Schools" guide, which was recently issued by the authority, and "Emirates Today" obtained a copy of it, divided the precautionary measures into 16 groups: "Procedures for entering, receiving and connecting students and visits", "Examination and emergency plan", and " Always monitor and track contact cases, “cleanliness and sterilization”, “restrictions”, “space arrangements and physical spacing”, “educational service delivery”, “special events” and “shared resources / resources” , "Food and Drinks", "Physical Education", "School Transportation", "Circulars", "Readiness Plan", "Commitment", and "School Buildings Except Classrooms".
The guide stressed the need to adhere to "school transportation" that schools use half the capacity of the school bus capacity, with the need to put chairs on the chairs to guide students to the seats that are allowed to use, and to check the temperature of all students who board the school bus, and any passenger whose temperature is 37.5 degrees Celsius And above, he is not allowed to board the bus, and the presence of assistants is prohibited from working on school buses if they are over the age of 60, or who suffer from chronic diseases or weak immunity, and all bus passengers should wear masks, except for children under the age of six.
The guide obliged to maintain the sterilization of school buses by following the specific sterilization procedures, where every part of the bus should be sterilized after each use, and in line with the relevant instructions issued by Dubai Roads and Transport Authority regarding public transport, as well as to maintain the conditions for physical distance, and must keep a record Every day on which all bus passengers are logged during transit, in addition to recording absences.
For buses that use pass cards to log in, the sterilizers and cards should be sterilized, and the bus aide oversees this, and sufficient signs should be added inside the bus to guide students toward hygiene and sterilization practices, and appropriate sterilization and disposal practices should be followed, especially as Students may use trash baskets and rear pocket openings for seats, and it is necessary to ensure that adequate ventilation is available on the bus all the time, taking care to avoid air recycling and encourage the use of windows whenever possible.
In the event that symptoms of the Corona virus begin to appear on a student while riding the bus, it should be considered a suspected case. The bus aide will immediately inform the school health and safety official who in turn communicates with the school administration and the student’s parent, and if the bus trip is to connect the students to Their homes, the student suspected of being injured must be connected first, and if the trip is to connect the students to school, the student should be isolated and sent to the home, and he should not return to school before the PCR examination result appears, and determine its result, if it is negative, the student does not return to The school until the symptoms of the infection disappear, and if they are positive, all the people with whom the infected person has been mixed with, whether they are educational personnel, bus passengers or others, are tracked, as each of them must enter a quarantine for a period of 14 days.
The authority emphasized that the precautionary package includes ensuring that appropriate and effective options are available for each school separately, to preserve the health and safety of its students and its educational and administrative cadres, coinciding with the reopening of private schools in Dubai next September.
The package of procedures and guidelines adopted coincides with the Dubai government's keenness to ensure the highest levels of readiness for private schools in Dubai, to receive students at the beginning of the new academic year in a framework of positive cooperation between the various elements of the educational community, while emphasizing the need for prior consultation between private schools, their cadres and parents, to determine the shape Best suited for students to return again to the school building, in line with the procedures and guidelines adopted.
Regarding the “circulars” procedures, the guide stressed the need to ensure that a sufficient number of accessible communication and training channels are used to keep cadres and students ’parents up to date on the latest developments regarding new arrangements, established practices and sterilization methods approved for the new academic year (2020). / 2021), in addition to the need to provide adequate training for the person in charge of health and safety and the nurse or resident doctor, to ensure that they are treated appropriately with any possible injuries.
Readiness plan procedures
The guide stated about the procedures of the "readiness plan" and "commitment", that private schools in Dubai must adhere to the deadline for filling and submitting the electronic template sent by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority to help in setting up the school readiness plan, and schools should implement the approved preparedness plan And these plans would ensure that the school put in place appropriate procedures to ensure the continuity of its operations while maintaining the safety of everyone in its buildings, in line with the approved guidelines, and schools should allocate a person responsible for health and safety / sterilization or a team to deal with crises, and that To supervise daily and continuous cleaning, so that it is trained in best practices and requirements approved by Dubai Municipality, and schools must fully cooperate and adhere to all relevant procedures issued by government agencies.
If symptoms appear on a student on the bus, the Corona case will be suspected.
Provide adequate training for the health and safety person and the nurse or resident physician.