Following views from different quarters on the possibility of re-opening of schools amid rising cases of Covid-19 pandemic, Chancellor College Student’s Union (CCSU) president, Godfrey Phunyanya, has called on his fellow students to abide by the Presidential Taskforce’s advice on the matter.

Meanwhile the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 has communicated that all schools will not open on July 13, 2020 as previously suggested.

Phunyanya said much as he understands the need for the schools, including colleges, to be re-opened, but students must also consider the high rate at which the cases are increasing in the country, a development which puts the lives of many at risk.

He said: “The time we were advocating for the re-opening of the schools the cases were few but now there is an alarming increase on daily basis so I don’t think that the environment is safe to go back to school unless serious precautions are put in place.”

Phunyanya however said if Covid-19 pandemic funds from different donors were to be properly utilized, the country would have the capacity to make the environment safe for the re-opening of the schools.

Earlier in June, the country’s university students held a press briefing to push the authorities to re-open the schools.

In a similar development, on July 24, Independent Schools Association of Malawi (ISAMA) issued a letter informing the public that all private schools will be opened on July 13, before backtracking the directive after the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology also issued its statement alerting the public to disregard all communications confirming the date for re-opening of schools without prior approval from government.

On March 23, 2020, the former President, Peter Mutharika, directed the closure of all schools as one of the measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country.

As of July 9, 2020, the Malawi had recorded 1986 cases including 29 deaths.