AOb: 'Delete compulsory physical education for exam candidates'
The requirement that exam students - and other students in special groups - continue to be taught at school must be deleted immediately. That is the call of AObdirector Henrik de Moel at the cabinet. "The obligation leads to unworkable situations in the classes."
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The Cabinet decided in mid-December that schools for primary and secondary education would also close their doors during the lockdown. One of the most important exceptions to this rule are students in practical VMBO classes, students in VSO and students in secondary education who are currently in their final year.
This obligation is not formulated equally clearly everywhere. For example, a general message on the website Rijksoverheid.nl states that examination candidates and, for example, students in practical subjects of the VMBO can 'come' to school. However, the Q&A of the ministry for the education field leaves no room for doubt: 'Pupils who take their final exams this school year follow the education program at school'. And: 'Schools therefore have the obligation to provide physical education to these groups of pupils.'
It does not feel safe for every teacher to sit with thirty teenagers in a poorly ventilated room
However, this obligation leads to unworkable situations in the classroom, he points out AObdriver De Moel. “In the first place, it does not feel safe for every teacher to be in a poorly ventilated classroom with thirty adolescents. Certainly not now that the new English variant of the virus is emerging. ”
Divide
The VO council has now proposed to split classes, but that leads to new problems. De Moel: “Then half of the class will be taught in the permanent room, and the other half will be in a local nearby to take the lesson online. After all, the other half must also be taught at school. And for that other room you need someone to supervise. ”
Furthermore, teachers who belong to a risk group themselves or who have a partner who falls in a risk group do not have to come to school under certain circumstances (check the last protocol). But their students do. De Moel: “Then you get the situation that students at school follow online lessons that the teacher gives from home. Which means you also need someone to supervise at school. ”
Unworkable
That doesn't work at all. “This situation is unworkable and leads to unrest among teachers and students,” says De Moel. His solution: “Let teachers – whether or not via the participation councils – and schools themselves decide where the lessons are given: at school, online or in a combination thereof. This makes customization possible and gives peace of mind. And that gives teachers who feel unsafe in full classes the space to come up with good customized solutions. I therefore call on the cabinet to scrap the obligation for face-to-face lessons as soon as possible.”
Also read: Great concerns about full classes after January 4th
