How Ugandan schools are safeguarding against Ebola

A school nurse at Kabale Primary School takes the temperature of pupils after washing their hands at the school gate. PHOTO | ROBERT MUHEREZA

At about 7am after the bell is rung, learners queue patiently to wash their hands at the gates before being allowed to access classrooms in some of the sampled schools across the country.

For instance, in some of the schools in Arua City like Arua Primary, prefects and teachers have been tasked with ensuring every learners comply to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Ebola can spread fast from one learner to hundreds in a school.

As learners trickle in through the gates of schools every morning, the familiar routines of class attendance, assembly, and sports are now accompanied by another equally important ritual- the strict health screening aimed at preventing the spread of Ebola.

From rural to urban schools, administrators, teachers, and parents are once again tightening standard operating procedures (SOPs) to protect learners following renewed fears of Ebola outbreaks in parts of the country, as they did during the Covid-19 pandemic.

At several schools that this publication visited across the country, handwashing stations fitted with soap and chlorinated water stand prominently at entrances.

At secondary schools, students arriving for morning prep are first subjected to temperature screening using the thermometers.

The Head teacher of Arua Primary School, Mr Twalib Ondoga, said on Monday that: “We have provided handwashing facilities at many points. We have also acquired temperature guns and sanitisers.”

Mr Ondoga added: “We have done a thorough sensitisation about the Ebola virus to both teachers and pupils, a reason many learners can now wash their hands regularly. We cannot take chances on Ebola.”

He said with the school population of 2,124 pupils, serious precautionary measures against Ebola disease are done to everyone visiting the school, including the staff.

Upon arrival at the school, parents or visitors are also subjected to a temperature check-up and allowed to wash their hands before being permitted into the school premises by the watchman.

According to Arua City Resident City Commissioner, Rtd Maj. Betty Akello Otekat, schools are crucial areas that can easily lead to rapid spread of Ebola, once a positive contact mixes with learners or teachers.

“We have told head teachers that anybody who does not follow the strict guidelines can turn out to be difficult to contain. We have issued strict messages that have been disseminated to all schools within the City on prevention of Ebola,”