The Ministry of Education says students will be allowed to wear suitable clothing that covers their arms and legs, in addition to the school uniform, to protect themselves from mosquitoes amid the ongoing dengue outbreak.
Ministry Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa said the decision was taken in view of the current dengue risk, and that all school principals have been informed. Allowing students to cover exposed skin is expected to help reduce the spread of dengue among schoolchildren, he said.
Principals have also been instructed to continue organising special mosquito breeding-site eradication and school cleaning programmes at all government and government-approved private schools, with the participation of parents and past pupils.
Update (July 13): The government has extended the same advice to pre-schools. Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savithri Paulraj urged parents to dress pre-school children in clothing covering their arms and legs before sending them to class, and to use child-safe mosquito repellents where appropriate. Speaking at a National Early Childhood Week briefing, she said the next two weeks would be especially critical for dengue and called on parents to remain vigilant.
The move dovetails with a broader public-health push against the disease. The National Dengue Control Unit has announced that a special mosquito control programme covering 60 high-risk zones begins tomorrow, 23 of them in the Western Province, where control activities have been under way since last Sunday under the Clean Sri Lanka programme run on behalf of the Presidential Secretariat.
