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Corona: Summit plan provides for school shutdown in the event of a specific incidence - teachers' association sharply criticizes test strategy

2021-03-22T06:49:42.682Z


Teacher representatives speak of “fears about health” - the ministers of education, on the other hand, want schools to remain open as long as possible.


Teacher representatives speak of “fears about health” - the ministers of education, on the other hand, want schools to remain open as long as possible.

  • Gradually, depending on the federal state, students in Germany * are returning to face-to-face classes.

  • Regional schools have also been closed again due to rising corona numbers *.

  • The subject is sometimes bitterly disputed - a draft resolution

    targets

    the 7-day incidence *

    (see update from March 21, 8:48 p.m.)

    .

Update from March 22nd, 7:16 am

: Schools should remain open "as long as possible" despite Corona

(see first report from March 21st)

.

This was confirmed by KMK President Britta Ernst (SPD) shortly before the Corona summit with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU).

“Many children and young people are suffering from the pandemic situation.

So that the consequences do not accompany their lives permanently, the priority of the education ministers is to keep the schools open as long as possible, ”said the education minister of Brandenburg of the

Bild

newspaper“ on Monday.

The German Teachers Association contradicts.

Its president, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, told the

Rheinische Post

(Monday edition): “If the federal states had been serious about keeping schools open despite the steep rise in incidence, one should have ensured that teachers are now vaccinated and schools are equipped with a sufficient number of rapid tests .

We are still miles away from that in 9 out of 10 schools. "

+

Scene from a German primary school in February 2021: Because of Corona, the children are in alternating classes.

© Sebastian Gollnow / dpa

Before the Corona summit: The draft resolution provides for school closings from an incidence of 200

Update from March 21, 8:48 p.m.:

The draft for the new resolutions of the upcoming federal-state summit has reached the media.

The draft - which

Merkur.de

* is available - also contains a passage which, due to the exponential growth, provides for further tightening ("additional measures") for districts with more than 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants within a week.

The entire passage is in square brackets, which means that it has to be negotiated because it is particularly controversial.

Among other things, there is talk of a nocturnal exit restriction until 5:00 am, “unless there are serious reasons to the contrary”.

The starting time is left open here.

In addition, there is talk of closing schools and daycare centers or not opening them at all, provided that educators, teachers and pupils or supervised children cannot be tested twice a week.

From an incidence of 200, there could be a closure of schools and daycare centers.

+

11th grade students sit in the auditorium of their grammar school in Dresden during the corona pandemic.

© Sebastian Kahnert / dpa

Corona: were school openings a mistake?

Dispute between teachers and ministers - "emergency brake" required

Initial report

: Berlin - "How should everything go on?": Teachers in Bavaria see the state government's corona policy as "reaching the limit of unreasonable demands".

The Bavarian Philologists Association (BPV) criticized a test chaos and "a half-baked and impractical rush-hour procedure" - and asked this drastic question in a communication.

The reason is the announcement that students will be subjected to a voluntary corona self-test before the start of lessons.

The Bavarian teachers would have to organize and supervise the tests on site - "and are not just left alone with fears for their own health and that of the students," it said.

"There is no age group where the increase in cases is currently as pronounced as among children and young adults," said SPD * health expert Karl Lauterbach on Friday.

The increasingly dominant British mutation * is spreading particularly strongly among them - the development of the school test strategy must therefore have the highest priority.

Teachers' union on corona policy: "Vaccination strategy has turned out to be a disaster"

The teachers' union VBE sees the opening of the schools on March 15th as a big mistake.

Although she still carried the decision at the beginning, the number of new corona infections had risen significantly by March 15.

"One should have acted", said the VBE state chairman Gerhard Brand (Baden-Württemberg).

"The teachers let it be known in a survey that they were afraid to teach," added Brand.

The survey is not representative because of the insufficient number of responses, but it does reflect a clear trend.

The primary schools also lack the staff to divide the classes.

In addition, according to the VBE, teachers should only be allowed to teach if they are adequately protected against the coronavirus.

"The country's vaccination strategy has turned out to be a disaster."

In Baden-Württemberg, parents and teachers can be vaccinated.

However, you will receive the Astrazeneca vaccine, which has not been injected in the past few days as a precaution.

Corona relaxation in schools: "Struggle for classroom schooling every day"

The education ministers of the federal states, on the other hand, do not see the school openings as a mistake.

"We fight for classroom attendance every day," said the President of the Standing Conference (KMK), Britta Ernst (SPD).

On the

Bayerischer Rundfunk

, she added after the press conference on Friday: You are doing “something” to children when schools are closed for months.

The statement by the ministers of education is not to keep schools open at all costs.

"But what is not possible is that other areas of society are kept open, such as hardware stores, and schools are closed," said the SPD politician.

Compared to all other areas of life, schools have to stay open the longest, according to the KMK decision on Friday.

In this context, they demanded that teachers in face-to-face classes should be given priority in the vaccination campaign *.

This is already the case in elementary schools, but not in secondary schools.

Schools open despite Corona: Education ministers question 7-day incidence

However, the KMK also demanded an examination of whether the 7-day incidence in particular should continue to be decisive for school closure decisions.

The reason: If children and adolescents are now massively tested everywhere, more cases will automatically be found - and this will also increase the incidence values.

Also because the quota of the vaccinated population and the educational staff is increasing, the incidence value must be viewed differently.

In this context, the KMK warned against stigmatizing students.

"Tests are a very important component in keeping schools open," said KMK chairwoman Ernst.

Look at the infection process "with concern".

However, children and adolescents are not the engine of what is happening.

The educators' union VBE, however, pleaded that the KMK should not shut itself off from school closings in areas with very high incidences.

"We need a clear definition of an emergency brake for the school sector," said association chief Udo Beckmann.

(dpa / AFP / frs) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

List of rubric lists: © Sebastian Gollnow / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-03-22

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