United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Sri Lanka, Tim Sutton, commended Sri Lanka’s efforts taken to reopen schools safely amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, through a press release issued on Wednesday.
“We congratulate Sri Lanka for its effective response to the Coronavirus, as well as its achievement of being one of the first countries in South Asia to reopen schools during the pandemic,” the statement read.
Sutton stated, “Although education continued during school closures, we know that the best place for children to learn is in a safe school environment, with their friends and teachers.”
“However, the risk of COVID-19 remains, and that’s why our message is simple: follow these ‘7 new lessons’ from the new campaign and we can limit the spread of COVID-19 among children, teachers, parents, and communities and get back to learning,” he added.
“The ‘COVID-19: New Lessons in the New Term’ campaign is the latest phase in UNICEF’s ongoing support to the Government of Sri Lanka in response to COVID-19—that has also seen UNICEF procure essential medical items, support the development of safe school operation guidelines, promote ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene’ (WASH) facilities at schools, develop learning materials for home-based learning, support ‘catch up’ education; as well as provide expertise in the areas of health, nutrition, education, child protection, social policy, and communications,” the statement read.
“UNICEF will continue to work closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure the safety and well-being of children and youth across the country during and after the COVID-19 pandemic,” Sutton stated.