How to navigate schools through the pandemic has been a hotly debated topic for nearly two years. But the debate has probably never been as heated as it is now, when face-to-face teaching is encountering record infection numbers. The federal and state governments are still sticking to their course of open schools, “As long as it’s possible,” as Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) says.
But the number of voices who believe that this point has been reached or passed is growing. The teachers’ associations and many concerned parents have more or less clearly closed in the past few weeks the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the child protection association and even a Minister of Education, Helmut Holter (left) from Thuringia.
Thuringia’s attempt to break away, where the new calendar year was to begin with distance learning at all schools, ultimately failed due to the Infection Protection Act. It says there should be no more school closures across the board. But there is great concern that the Infection Protection Act can put rebellious countries in their place, but doesn’t stand a chance against the reality called Omikron. The scenario that the Ministers of Education also expressly fear: so many children, young people and teachers become infected or have to be quarantined that schools ultimately have to close across the board – not for lack of political will, but for a lack of staff.
Germany’s neighbor France is a warning example. According to figures from the Ministry of Education, 10,000 classes were closed there at the beginning of the week because teachers or students were in quarantine or infected. This corresponds to two percent of the classes, 50,000 students are currently infected with the corona virus.
Many teachers are on strike. And many parents support them
The frustration about the situation in French schools erupted in a massive protest on Thursday. According to the unions, more than 60 percent of teachers in lycées and collèges took part in a day of strike, as did 75 percent of primary school teachers. The unions spoke of a “historic participation”. Not only was the extent of the strike unusual, but also the broad alliance that organized it. Headteachers and parent associations, who otherwise rarely take part in protests, also called for children not to be sent to school on Thursday.
The protests were not about the fundamental question of “schools open or closed” – hardly anyone in France is calling for school closures. However, one wants to draw attention to the “indescribable chaos” that prevails in the schools after two years of the pandemic; Teachers are “desperate and exhausted,” said the Snes-FSU union. Laurent Berger, general secretary of the reform-oriented CFDT union, said: “This is not a strike against the virus, but against the lack of voting and against a kind of disregard.” Teachers’ and parents’ associations are demanding that schools be equipped with air filters, masks for teachers and more substitute teachers. Some teachers’ associations also want classes to be closed as soon as a student has been diagnosed with a Covid infection.
“We’re only there so that parents can go to work,” complains a headmistress
The French government is proud to have come through the pandemic with almost no school closings (apart from the first lockdown). However, the current number of infections poses new challenges for teaching. In France, an average of more than 280,000 new Covid infections per day have been reported in the past seven days – much more than in Germany, where there were a little more than 80,000 on Thursday. In the under-18 age group, the incidence value in France is over 3400, well above the national average of 2700. Teachers have been complaining for weeks that sick colleagues cannot be adequately represented. In an interview with France Television a school principal said on Wednesday: “We have the feeling that we are only there so that parents can go to work, so that the economy runs. I don’t recognize my job, it’s all about storage, education and Projects are no longer possible. “
The anger in the schools is directed specifically against the Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer. He is accused of having poorly prepared the start of school after the Christmas holidays. The rules for starting school on January 3rd were announced by Blanquer on the evening of January 2nd. And not in a message to the schools, but in an interview with the daily newspaper Parisien, which was readable only by its subscribers. Those who missed the information needn’t fret for long, however, because it was outdated just four days later. Since January 2nd, the Corona guidelines for schools have been adjusted three times. All teacher and student associations complain about the lack of overview, clarity and coordination.
Classes were still closed until November if more than three children were found to be infected, this no longer applies. In the case of particularly badly affected classes, a decision must now be made “on a case-by-case basis”. An infected child’s classmates must take a rapid test at home (and then two more in the following days) and can continue to go to school. The pharmacies should make the rapid tests available to schoolchildren free of charge. If a child is found to be infected with Covid, they can continue to attend classes until the end of the school day. School Minister Blanquer speaks of “simplified rules”, the unions say that the goal of making schools safe places has been abandoned. Rules are relaxed, others tightened
The rules are also being relaxed in Germany
In Germany, too, the rules are being relaxed, to the annoyance of the teachers’ associations, in order to be able to maintain face-to-face teaching despite the Omicron. Pupils who have had contact with an infected child can in future be tested on the fifth day, using a PCR or rapid test. In return, the tests should take place more frequently and in some federal states will also be mandatory for those who have recovered and those who have been vaccinated.
The next few weeks will have to show whether that is enough to bring the schools into the presence of the omicron wave. Like the number of infections, the restrictions on face-to-face teaching are currently well below the French level. Even in Bremen, which had the highest incidence nationwide on Thursday, only one class was affected. However, a spokeswoman for the school senator emphasized that the school has only been running again since Monday and that the evaluation of the PCR tests is still pending. It is possible that more classes will soon have to learn at home – not only in Bremen.