Fiji Teachers Union general secretary Agni Deo Singh says schools organising for parents to pick up hard copies of worksheets were setting the stage for a COVID-19 superspreader event.
He made the comment in a letter to Education Ministry permanent secretary Dr Anjeela Jokhan on Friday.
Mr Singh said the union had received numerous complaints from members in containment areas about the high probability of exposure to infection from the physical distribution of hard copies of worksheets.
“The collection of hard copies by parents and students, and then returning the same to schools on a weekly basis will mass movement of thousands of parents and students,” he said in the letter.
“We believe this is a direct breach of MoH (Ministry of Health) advice to minimise movement.
“As Dr Fong (Health Ministry permanent secretary) and his team repeatedly emphasise ‘If you move, the virus moves’,” he added.
“Considering that the Central Division is widely and densely infested with the infection, this exercise could turn into another ‘superspreader’ if we fail to take necessary precaution.”
Mr Singh also said the worksheet themselves could very well be conveyers of the virus.
He suggested that for schools in the containment areas online mode be used to disseminate worksheets and if there were no other options then government agencies such as the National Disaster Management Office, police and Republic of Fiji Military Forces could assist.
Questions sent to Education Ministry permanent secretary Ms Jokhan on Friday and again yesterday on the issue remain unanswered.
