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Teacher boss predicts bitter omicron development - school ministers are now planning a quick summit

2021-12-30T18:47:15.597Z


Teacher boss predicts bitter omicron development - school ministers are now planning a quick summit Created: 12/30/2021, 7:37 PM Michael Piazolo, Minister of Culture of Bavaria and Secretary General of Free Voters in Bavaria. © Matthias Balk / dpa The worries about a new corona wave are growing. The omicron mutation could have dramatic consequences for schools. The ministers of education are pl


Teacher boss predicts bitter omicron development - school ministers are now planning a quick summit

Created: 12/30/2021, 7:37 PM

Michael Piazolo, Minister of Culture of Bavaria and Secretary General of Free Voters in Bavaria.

© Matthias Balk / dpa

The worries about a new corona wave are growing.

The omicron mutation could have dramatic consequences for schools.

The ministers of education are planning a corona summit.

Berlin - In a few days after the Christmas break, classes will start again at many schools.

At the same time, concerns about the Omikron virus variant are growing.

What does this mean for the students?

Teacher boss Meidinger has a gloomy forecast in the event of a new wave.

There could be decisions soon: The state ministers of education want to discuss possible school closings next Wednesday.

Because of Omikron: the head teacher sees normality "a long way off"

The head of the teachers' association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger, sees normality in school operations "a long way off," as he

said

in an interview with

Die Welt

.

The omicron variant destroys all hopes for normality.

He did not yet know what exactly the schools were in for, explained Meidinger.

“But Omikron actually threatens a completely new situation in schools.

The risk of infection is extremely high - and many children are still not vaccinated, ”said the President of the German Teachers' Association.

In view of this, the previous means of masks and regular tests would not be sufficient, said the 67-year-old.

Schools and Omikron: Teacher boss Meidinger wants a higher vaccination rate

School closings cannot be ruled out either. Before Christmas, 250,000 schoolchildren were already in quarantine - almost as many as in 2020. "If Omikron really rolls through schools soon, there will be considerably more schools that have to close temporarily, even if there will be no general school closings", Meidinger suspects. It is therefore important that the federal states draw up emergency plans for schools now in order to be prepared in the event of a new wave.

In addition to the children, teachers are also at risk due to the high risk of infection: Meidinger expects massive failures in the event of an omicron infection in schools - a problem for the already narrow staffing levels.

In order to keep the school going, previous measures would have to be retained and the vaccination rate for children and adults increased significantly.

Children in particular are a hub of the pandemic: “The incidences among them are currently often two to three times as high as in society as a whole.

You can get infected and pass the virus on more easily because of the lack of vaccination protection. "

Corona summit of the ministers of education - top priority for face-to-face teaching

In view of the worsening situation, the education ministers of the federal states want to briefly discuss the situation in schools in a video conference next Wednesday (January 5th). This was announced by a spokesman for the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) on Thursday (December 30th) after a digital meeting of the Presidium. The next regular KMK meeting was originally planned for February 10th.

In the communication, the Presidium maintained its decision to continue to give top priority to face-to-face teaching in schools.

The country representatives had also determined at the Presidium level "that all countries except Thuringia want to start in presence after the Christmas holidays".

Thuringia had announced, among other things, that the students should study from home on the first two school days after the holidays, on January 3rd and 4th.

Corona crisis in Germany: Association criticizes school plans

Recently, in view of the danger posed by the Corona variant Omikron, reminders were sent to the KMK group not to stick to face-to-face classes at any cost and to advise them again on the current situation at short notice.

Experts from associations warned, however, that a decision should be made depending on the respective infection situation.

The chairman of the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE), Udo Beckmann, called for close coordination with virologists and for a definition of what is responsible for the health of teachers and students.

“It cannot be about wishful thinking, but reality in schools must be taken into account.

Part of this reality is that with full presence it is usually not possible to

keep your distance

in the classrooms. "

(Sf / dpa)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-12-30

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