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Schools to open: Experts divided – Ministry of Education ready for all scenarios
The Ministry of Education, is preparing for the scenario of continuing e-learning beyond January 8 for a short time. Scientists say that everything will be judged by our attitude during the holidays.
Our good … conduct during the festive period and the observance of the measures, will pave the way for the opening of the schools around the country. The government’s main goal is for students to return to their schools on January 8, but the final decision will be made by scientists next week, assessing the situation as it has been until then. Everyone wants the schools to reopen, but not to have to close again soon due to an increase in coronavirus cases, from our contacts during the holiday season.
The Ministry of Education, however, is also preparing for the scenario for continuing e-learning beyond January 8 for a short period. For this reason, a circular is being prepared which will call on the teachers of Gymnasiums and Lyceums to send the four-month grades (s.s. expires on January 20) to all students electronically without the need for their physical presence in schools units. The grades will be accompanied by the number of absences of the students, including those that took place during the distance learning.
The opening of schools is a priority of the government
However, this week the committee of infectious disease specialists will meet for a first assessment of the situation but also for how the schools of Primary and Secondary Education will be opened, as announced by the Government Spokesman Stelios Petsas. Answering reporters’ questions, the government spokesman said: “The government’s priority is to open schools. Whether they will open Primary Education first or all together will be decided within the week. We will see how they will open and whether they will concern both levels of education at the same time after the minister’s consultations with the experts “.
Mr. Petsas underlined that “first of all, the restrictive measures are valid until January 7. Until then we have several days ahead of us and we must not be complacent. We must observe the measures very carefully, in order to have the reduction in the viral load, throughout the Territory. Regarding the schools, within the week there will be a meeting of the Minister of Education and Religions with the experts, in order to set the framework for the opening of the school levels. The Government’s priority is to open schools. What we need to see is how we will be next week, what will be the levels of cases, what will be the situation in the National Health System, especially in the ICUs and those intubated, then we will make our decisions for the other branches of the Economy “.
For his part, the professor and member of the committee of experts, Charalambos Gogos appeared positive to open schools and first elementary schools after the holidays, saying: “The picture from the epidemiological data in Greece is good and the course of cases is declining. In the first phase, it would be positive for the primary schools to open and after a week the Gymnasiums and the Lyceums “. The president of the hospital doctors of Athens – Piraeus, Matina Pagoni, developed the same position, but said that it would be good to open all the levels now.
The objections
On the contrary, the member of the infectious disease committee and professor of Microbiology at the Medical School of EKPA, Athanasios Tsakris, insisted that “for January 8, it may be a little early to open primary schools and kindergartens. We need to have specific data that really convinces us that we are in a significant decline in the epidemic. I would probably say that they will probably open on January 15 and we will have to wait another week to see what the effect of the holiday season will be on the development of the epidemic “.
Infectious disease specialist Nikos Sypsas also expressed his reservations about the opening of schools after the holidays, noting that “citizens’ gatherings over Christmas can be fatal for the reopening of schools. The goal is to open on January 8 but unfortunately we can’t think about it from now, in the sense that we do not know what will prevail in the country, if the cases continue we will have a problem in opening them “.
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