Self-tests for students should start after the holidays

"More security through self-tests in Bavarian schools" - that is what the Ministry of Education and Culture wants to achieve.

The first test kits arrived in the district last week, and the schools were able to pick them up on Thursday and Friday.

But that does not mean that tests will start immediately.

Erding - "We are firmly convinced that regular and continuous tests can make school operations much safer during these times." Minister of Education Michael Piazolo (FW) wrote this to parents and legal guardians last Tuesday.

His goal: After the Easter break at the latest, every student should be able to test himself twice a week in school - on a voluntary basis.

This also applies to the teachers who are supposed to test themselves at home.

The so-called booger tests are used, in which a test stick is inserted about two centimeters into each nostril, moved back and forth on the inside of the nose and then immersed in a test liquid.

Corona: The first test kits for schools have arrived in the Erding district

The district of Erding received the first test kits last week.

The schools were able to pick them up at the vocational school in Erding, where they were stored by the district administration authority.

The Erding Education Authority took care of distributing the tests to the schools in the district.

There is no strategy from the authorities as to when and how the tests should be carried out.

"The time and place of the implementation are decided by the respective school, according to the requirements of the ministry of culture," reports Education Authority Director Marion Bauer when asked by our newspaper.

Regarding the on-site procedure, she explains: “The tests are carried out in class, in the first lesson.

To do this, the parents' consent must first be obtained from students under the age of 18. "

Corona: Teachers and parents are calling for self-tests at home instead of tests in school

According to the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, the students should carry out the tests “in any case themselves” - usually in the classroom or in other suitable rooms.

The respective teacher should accompany the test, supervise the students and give them verbal instructions for carrying out the tests.

So much for the Ministry's theory.

But will all the teachers participate?

As reported, the BLLV district association in Erding is resisting the fact that the rapid antigen tests are carried out in the classrooms of children and adolescents under the supervision of teachers.

The need for regular corona tests, however, is not denied: “We also like to carry out these self-tests on ourselves, we also like to distribute the test sets to the students.

But the test location must clearly be at home, ”the chairmen Michael Oberhofer and Michael Braun clarify in a press release.

The Bavarian Parents' Association recently rejected corona tests at school and instead calls for home self-tests.

The plan is to start testing the students after the Easter break

It will probably take another three weeks for the vast majority of children and young people in the district to get started.

“The plan is to start testing the pupils after the Easter break,” explains Bauer, at least for elementary and secondary schools.

Most institutions are likely to do this - also because there are currently not enough tests.

Schulamtsdirektor Robert Leiter adds: "In fact, initially only a limited contingent was delivered, which currently enables the teachers to familiarize themselves with the self-tests and apply them to themselves." There are also explanatory videos from the Ministry of Education.

However, further deliveries have been announced, "so we assume that the tests can also be carried out on the students after the Easter break".

This is the procedure at the Forstern elementary and middle school, for example.

Rector Annett Taubert reports that teachers are initially called upon to test themselves at home twice a week, on Monday and Wednesday, before school starts.

“On a voluntary basis, of course,” emphasizes Taubert.

At the FOS / BOS in Erding, on the other hand, they want to start a trial phase with selected classes before the Easter holidays in order to be able to guarantee a smooth process later, according to an information to students and parents.

After the holidays, all students should be given a test offer.

The teachers have been tested twice a week since February.

vam