In NRW, no matter what the heat, students now sit in the classroom wearing a mask - unique in Germany. For critics, Prime Minister Laschet is in "corona-political blind flight".
- North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) starts the new school year on August 12th - in full operation.
- The mask requirement in class in North Rhine-Westphalia is unique in Germany - and has harsh critics.
- It's the corona crisis management by Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU) also its suitability as a possible Merkel's successor .
Düsseldorf - It's the dress rehearsal : In North Rhine-Westphalia ( August 12 ), regular school operations in the corona pandemic * will start again after six and a half weeks of summer vacation . The whole of Germany is looking to see if and how the special route of the most populous federal state works - because nationwide mask compulsory in lessons has so far only existed here. The only exceptions are primary and special schools.
Not only the conditions for students and teachers on site are under close observation, but also the entire corona crisis management of Prime Minister Armin Laschet * (CDU), which has been heavily controversial from the start . “We have to be particularly careful these days,” Laschet justifies his course. Therefore, the NRW-wide mask requirement, initially limited to the end of August, is correct. In other federal states, this regulation only applies to individual schools.
North Rhine-Westphalia will start regular school operations again after the summer holidays.
© Guido Kirchner / dpa
Coronavirus in North Rhine-Westphalia: 2.5 million students are returning to regular operations - parents and teachers' associations are concerned
Several teachers and parents' associations had expressed concerns about the return of the around 2.5 million pupils to regular operations at 2500 schools across the country because, in their opinion, insufficient care was taken to protect against infection * in large classes.
Among other things, the education and science union misses - as does the state parliament opposition - intelligent concepts for equalizing teaching, for example through "shift work" and outdoor activities . What if massive numbers of schoolchildren in North Rhine-Westphalia are now infected with the Sars-Cov-2 virus * , schools have to be closed and the number of infections, which has been increasing for weeks, necessitate severe restrictions on public life ?
Mask requirement in school: "A lot is at stake for Armin Laschet at the moment"
"A lot is at stake for Armin Laschet at the moment," states political scientist Ulrich von Alemann . His "relaxation exercises" in Corona crisis management were "not well received by the population and in the Union," he told the dpa. "It remains to be seen whether he will be able to score points with tough school management and new, strict protective requirements."
After all, Laschet currently has to prove himself in the "triathlon" for popularity among the population, the party leadership of the CDU and the candidacy for chancellor for the Union. After Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder * (CSU) had left the NRW Prime Minister far behind in the polls in terms of popularity and suitability for chancellor , it was "almost impossible" to catch up with this lead, said von Alemann.
Start of school in NRW: Laschet in the "corona-political blind flight"?
A fiasco in the corona crisis management at schools, which directly affects millions of parents, teachers and students in NRW, would not be a recommendation for higher ordinations. The opposition leader in the Düsseldorf state parliament, Thomas Kutschaty , already sees Laschet "in the corona-political blind flight". So far, the black and yellow state government has mainly attracted attention because of its "back and forth", said the SPD parliamentary group leader of the dpa .
"After Armin Laschet clearly hit the wall with his easing course, he is now suddenly giving the hardliner the start of school," said the former NRW Minister of Justice . "In the USA this is called a flip-flopper ." After the state government failed to implement a consistent test strategy at an early stage, the mask requirement in schools is now "unfortunately necessary".
Continue to be careful and mindful - #NRWcanndas. The #Corona protection regulation was extended until August 31st today. Important: the mask requirement remains. In buses and trains there is a threat of a fine of 150 euros for people who refuse to wear a mask. #corona pic.twitter.com/Z7A20Rp7Rv
- State Chancellery NRW (@landnrw) August 11, 2020School despite Corona in North Rhine-Westphalia: Mask requirement "recommended" - or "superfluous disability"?
This is disputed nationwide among teachers, parents, doctors and scientists. While the Marburger Bund sees the mask requirement in the classroom as a senseless, “superfluous disability” , a group of renowned scientists classifies it as recommendable in a statement by the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina .
It is also controversial whether entire schools should be closed after corona infections. "If a corona case occurs in a school, the school does not have to be closed for 14 days," said medical president Klaus Reinhardt of the Rheinische Post . It is enough if individual classes or courses stay at home.
Laschet wants school operation despite Corona: dress rehearsal for Berlin?
At least no political party or well-known association in North Rhine-Westphalia has spoken out in favor of staying at a distance while learning to be on the safe side and relying on home schooling again. School Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) admits that not all students could be taken with them in the weeks leading up to the holidays, but that educational disadvantages arose . The state student council has also warned against this.
NRW is starting the new school year as the sixth state after Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg and Berlin. Laschet's entire political existence is not at stake with the outcome of the full school operation experiment in the Corona year , emphasized von Alemann. "If Söder presents his Bavarian office as the most beautiful in the world, why doesn't Laschet do the same?" In North Rhine-Westphalia he was "at least not challenged so far". (dpa / AFP / frs) * Merkur.de belongs to the Ippen digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Guido Kirchner / dpa
