Coronavirus is gripping schools
Schools closed all week, teachers sitting at home because of a cough, cold or fever and half-empty classes: the corona virus is keeping schools busy. Yesterday, the Brabant government made an urgent appeal to schools to remain open as much as possible and to provide proper care for children.
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"That is a crazy call," says AObdriver Tamar van Gelder. "If many teachers are at home because of a cold, fever or cough, you cannot expect the rest to take in eighty students."
For the province of Brabant, the guidelines to contain the corona virus are stricter, because there are more infections there. The RIVM advises people from Brabant to work from home as much as possible and especially not to go to work if there are illnesses, such as a cough, cold or fever.
Still, schools and day-care centers are called upon to stay open and take care of the children. 'Children who are at home call on their parents, which means that people in vital professions cannot find work, for example', so writes the Brabant Safety Region. AObdriver Van Gelder says that education is not there to take care of children. “Schools are there to provide education. If that does not work, you cannot expect that a school and the people who are still there will suddenly continue to receive entire classes of students. ”
Education is not there to take care of children, but to provide education
Guilty
Primary school teacher Peter van Hulst from Tilburg has a cold and is therefore forced to stay at home. “Normally I would definitely have started working,” he says. “Now I have to stay at home according to the guidelines of the RIVM and you still feel guilty. So now I'm just preparing work for the GMR. ” He thinks it is 'not a bad decision' to keep the schools open. “Everything is done step by step. Major events have been canceled now, maybe next week it will be the schools. We follow the experts. ”
Normally I would have absolutely gone to work with a cold
Kim Bleijs, a Tilburg primary school teacher in group 4, is also at home with a cold and a cough. She was skiing in the Italian Trentino during the spring break, where the virus spread quickly. Then she went to work. “There were no guidelines yet and I felt good,” says the teacher. Now she has been at home since last Monday, despite not having all the corona symptoms. “It feels very strange. On Monday my group was sent home and yesterday and today there were several invaders in front of the group. I feel super guilty that I am not here now. ” Bleijs calls the call from the local government to keep schools open as much as possible 'not logical'. “Look, if you want to spread the virus somewhere, a school is a good place. I sit in a class with 25 or more people every day and normally have a cough or cold quite often. You pick that up all. ”
Close school
De Ganzenbloem primary school in Geldrop has been closed all week since yesterday. School director Jolein Orelio had to make this decision because there are many reports of sickness among both teachers and students. In addition, one teacher was recently at work who later turned out to be infected with the virus. “There were 172 pupils (one third) not and eleven teachers are now at home. It is not the time to start explaining new teaching material ”, says the school director.
The teachers who are at home because of the stricter guidelines in Brabant are spending their time well. “They prepare lessons or update their reports. Healthy teachers fall in on fellow schools. ” Next Monday, Orelio hopes to reopen the school. “However, the situation changes every day. I can imagine that we take care of students when there are still too few teachers to allow all lessons to continue. ”
The situation is changing day by day
At the large Brabant school group OMO, 34 secondary schools, spokesperson Marit Goosen said that more than 18 percent of the 62.950 students were not at school today. More than 12 percent of the 7070 were not present among teachers, oop'ers and management. “If your work permits, you can work from home, but the continuation of education is priority number 1, in addition to the safety and health of our students and employees. We try to anticipate and support association-wide where possible."
OMO tries to keep education going as well as possible. “We see many initiatives from the schools, such as distance education that are being considered. We also keep an eye on RIVM news and follow their guidelines. ”
Continue to pay
At the AOb Last week, a handful of questions came in from teachers who wonder, for example, whether they will continue to be paid in the event of a school closure. The Ministry of Education has let them know that if the school closes due to force majeure and teachers cannot do their work at school, the salary must continue to be paid. Van Gelder: “Employers can ask whether you can do other work at home if possible. We call on teachers who have questions about their rights and obligations to contact us. ”
Knowing more? Read our frequently asked questions via this link. It also says on National Government a frequently asked questions about the corona virus and education.
