The education ministry yesterday sent a letter addressed to the dzongdags and thrompons of all the 20 dzongkhags and the four thromdes stating that all schools should ensure that COVID-19 protocols are in place and to strictly observe it. The letter also states that standard operating procedures (SoPs), should be upheld and followed by everyone in the schools, apart from mentioning that the school management should pay extra attention to ensure security of the campuses and avoid any cases of tresspassing by strangers and unauthorised exit from the campuses by students and staff. Additionally, the letter states that if there is an outbreak due to negligence, persons responsible will be held accountable. “Outbreak of COVID-19 in the schools due to negligence of the school management or through breach of COVID-19 protocols and SoPs shall not be tolerated and persons responsible for such eventualities shall be held accountable,” the letter reads, apart from expressing the concerns. “Given the rapid surge in COVID -19 cases in our country and the outbreak of COVID-19 in some of our schools, the Ministry of Education is seriously concerned of the developments,” it says. This comes in the wake of 71 cases that were reported from Kuendrup Higher Secondary School in Gelephu on January 28, 2022, which led to many people resorting to social media and questioning the safety protocols observed by schools and the decision made by the education ministry to have schools under containtment and conduct the board examinations. Additionally, the Peoples Democratic Party has issued a press release on the same issue, saying the “recklessness with which the Government went ahead with containment centres have now jeopardised the physical and mental well-being of the students, teachers and staff at the Kuendrup High school.” “PDP, representing 1000s of worried parents had earlier called on the Government to do away with the idea of containment centers in view of the dangers of outbreaks in confined spaces,” the Press release states, adding that the infection of about 50% of the inhabitants in the school, reflect the “mindless disregard for the safety and well-being of the students and teachers who are instructed to move into ill-conceived and under-prepared containment Center”. PDP has called the government to immediately ensure that infections do not spread to other students and teachers in Kuendrup school and ensure that other schools also operating as containment mode are safe from a virus outbreak. The party has also asked for explainations to the worried parents, students and teachers on how 50% of the inhabitants are infected and assure parents and students how a repeat would be prevented in other schools. Apart from calling on the government to put in place robust counselling services to mitigate any ill effects on students affected, it has urged the government to immediately stop converting schools into containment centers as the virus outbreak from containment centers has been too commonplace to trust a foolproof Center. “The MoE should explore other practical and safe approaches for conducting board examinations. We would like to draw the Government's attention to our earlier press release wherein alternatives are submitted for the conduct of board exams, including the postponement,” the press release states.