Zambia: Zambia finally allowed schools to open for their 2024 academic session after the long Cholera break, and schools are also accepting instant application letters.
Kabompo District of Zabia advises schools to be on alert, take care of Cholera outbreak guidelines, and adopt hygiene standards.
The head of Kabompo Chinyanga says the government, through the Ministry of Health, has already given direction on how institutions should ensure safety against cholera and other infectious diseases.
He said this during his routine monitoring visit of government operations and development projects, during which he sampled selected schools in the district.
“Let us ensure that even as we have not recorded any cholera case, we remain alert as we know that our pupils have been travelling from high cholera prone places such as Lusaka and the Copperbelt,” Chinyanga said.
He tasked teachers to ensure that cholera sensitisation is done routinely in order for children to remain abreast on how to manage a clean and safe environment.
He further expressed delight at the preparedness of most of the schools he visited, saying they all had the required measures, such as buckets and hand wash facilities.
Speaking at the same event, Kabompo Boarding Secondary School Headteacher Isaac Lijimu stated that the school was ready and had received overwhelming enrollment responses from grades 8 and 10.
Lijimu said that the school had anticipated more numbers this year with the introduction of the free education policy and the increase of the Constituency Development Funds (CDF), which has the secondary boarding school bursary component.
He said that the school has also established a cholera prevention committee, which is responsible for ensuring that all measures are adhered to.
The District Commissioner has embarked on a continuous monitoring exercise of all the district’s schools to help prevent cholera.