It’s always a bit the same, the summer holidays have not started for a month since we are already talking about the start of the school year. For a good cause, all the same, while the Ministry of National Education has finally presented its new health protocol which will be in place from September to deal with the coronavirus. This protocol had been loudly demanded by the unions for weeks. 20 minutes takes stock of the announcements.
What does the new health protocol consist of?
On its list of supplies to buy for the start of the school year, the Ministry of National Education obviously had a four-color pen: green, yellow, orange and red. There are now four levels of health protocol in schools, to adapt to the circulation of the virus in each territory. For these four “hypotheses”, as Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer explains, doctrines are defined for reception (face-to-face or not), possible activities or even cases of class closures.
The protocol is published. Here are the 4 scenarios: pic.twitter.com/GTIkTktxq0
– Erwin Duck (@ErwinCanard) July 28, 2021
This new pattern, which did not exist until now, is not to displease the unions questioned by 20 minutes. “It’s going in the right direction”, for the general secretary of SNES-FSU, Sophie Vénétitay. The latter nevertheless regrets that we do not go “to the end of logic”: “We should have had thresholds, so that we know when and how we go from level 2 to level 3 and so on …” Secretary General of SGEN-CFDT, Catherine Nave-Bekhti, wonders for her part who will decide which departments are affected by such or such level of restrictions.
In middle and high schools, levels 3 and 4 provide for “hybridization” courses: in the event of a Covid-19 contamination in a classroom, the unvaccinated people will have to take lessons at home. The others will be face-to-face.
Why is the “hybrid” measure in middle and high school debated?
We have probably not finished talking about this decision on “hybridization” prices. “It is impossible to do twice the course at the same time: we cannot simply do the same course in person and in video, worries Catherine Nave-Bekhti. It will therefore be necessary to work to adapt the courses and this happens when the teachers have still not obtained compensation for the extra work for a year and a half. Sophie Vénétitay, of Snes-FSU, thinks that the measure will be quite simply impossible to put in place.
Not to mention that it will be necessary to control vaccinations: who will do it? The unions’ questions remain unanswered for the moment. “We are very surprised by this measure, we have not discussed it at all with the ministry so far,” explains Sophie Vénétitay. For their part, the SGEN-CFDT is said to have had no contact with the ministry on the health protocol since the beginning of July.
Is the measurement fair for the students?
Beyond the question of organization on the teacher side obviously arises the question of organization on the student side. “They can not follow the 25 hours of lessons of the week in video”, judges the general secretary of SNEG-CFDT. And then, “many students do not have good working conditions at home, it has been widely documented,” she recalls. This is the question of equality between students that will quickly arise, especially as children under 12, which happens in sixth grade, are not yet eligible for vaccination.
Today, just over 11% of 11-17 year olds are fully immunized. It must be said that the vaccination was opened to them just in June. For the SNES general secretary, this “hybridization” measure is above all a com ‘: “It’s a way to put pressure on families” and to speed up the vaccination of 12-17 year olds. Sophie Vénétitay would like vaccination centers near, or even in middle and high schools to vaccinate students and staff. 6,000 to 7,000 were announced by the ministry: “This is not enough, whereas there are 11,000 colleges and high schools in France. “