AOb-members massively against change school holidays
Three quarters of the AObmembers oppose the government's proposal to extend the Christmas holidays and shorten the summer holidays. “Shifting a week's vacation is patchwork”, thinks AOb-chairman Tamar van Gelder. “Prefer smaller classes and good ventilation in the classroom.”
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The cabinet is considering shortening the summer holidays by one week next school year, so that the Christmas holidays can be extended by one week. This should prevent the spread of any new corona variants, which mainly appear in winter. In the past two years, the Christmas holidays were extended by a week at the last minute, which caused a lot of unrest among students, teachers, schools and parents.
First, make sure that the virus has difficulty spreading in schools - through smaller classes and good ventilation
AObmembers are against the plan to postpone a week's holiday, according to a poll completed by 22 members. 75 percent of the members are against, only 16 percent are in favor. The outcome of a comparable AObpoll on social media, which non-members also filled in, is even more critical: 85 percent are opposed to the plan.
Patchwork
“If new corona variants appear, first make sure that it is difficult for the virus to spread in schools,” says AOb chairman Tamar van Gelder. “And don't postpone a week's holiday, because that's patchwork. Provide good ventilation in the classrooms, because that is still too often not in order.”
The cabinet should also ensure that teachers are vaccinated as soon as possible in the case of new covid variants. “Obviously, healthcare workers take precedence,” says Van Gelder. “But then it's really the teachers' turn. So that schools can continue to operate normally for as long as possible, and to protect teachers themselves. Because there are too many people from education who have contracted long-term covid† A lot still needs to be arranged for those people, such as postponement of the WIA inspection.”
May holidays
If the cabinet nevertheless decides to extend the Christmas holidays, half of the AObmembers choose to let that extra week be at the expense of the summer holidays. This is followed by the May holidays (32 percent), the spring holidays (11 percent) and finally the autumn holidays.
The cabinet wants to discuss the proposal for changing the holidays with various parties in the coming months. The school holidays (both the established dates and the advice dates) are established in consultation with, among others, the trade unions and employers, Parents & Education and the ANWB. There must be clarity about the school holidays for next year by June at the latest.
Read more: Cabinet presents plan to keep schools open
