Cabinet presents plan to keep schools open

Tekst Karen Hagen - Redactie Onderwijsblad - 15 april 2022 - 3 Minuten om te lezen

Picture: Type tank

The education ministers make with a letter known to the House of Representatives what the approach is for education. After two years of corona, digital education and many school closures, there is now a strategy in which pupils and students continue to receive as much physical education as possible.

Holidays

A different holiday schedule and annual planning of schools is one of the actions. 'We have seen that the corona virus is more common in the winter period', writes the minister. onand days should therefore no longer take place in winter, but around the autumn and spring holidays, for example. Schools should include this in their upcoming annual planning, the cabinet asks. The holiday schedule also needs to be overhauled, although it will be further elaborated, because it 'affects a lot of people and companies', according to the letter. In order to miss as few classes as possible, the Christmas holidays should be one week longer and the summer holidays one week shorter.

We have seen that the corona virus goes around more in the winter period

This is a “drastic measure”, says AObPresident Van Gelder. “It has a major impact on teaching staff and the unions should have a say in this.” Therefore all . receive AOb-members in their mail a poll, which non members can also fill in through this link, to ask for their opinion on the proposal.

AObchairman Van Gelder: 'The holiday plans are a drastic measure and have a major impact on teaching staff. We poll our members.'

Bottlenecks

Smoother transitions between school types is another point in the strategy. This should apply to all transitions: from childcare to higher education. The Ministry of Education wants to examine the legislation to see where bottlenecks are. Extending teaching time or a longer study duration are options. This gives students more time to master the subject matter.

Another point that the government has raised is the tailor-made diploma in secondary education. Van Gelder: “Such a customized diploma means a major system change. The staff should always be involved in this and it should not just be introduced under the guise of the corona pandemic.” Recently responded AOb-driver Jelmer Evers still very critical of the plan of VO Council chairman Henk Hagoort who also argued for a custom diploma.

Ventilation

Preventive measures, such as ventilation, self-testing and vaccination, are other means of keeping school doors open as much as possible. However, education staff will not be given priority with regard to vaccination, but must be part of the target group of the vaccination campaign at that time, the letter states. Van Gelder: “The basic principle is that education should remain open as much as possible. If you want that, you have to do something extra. Then arrange that priority or ensure that the ventilation is in order everywhere. Or mention the Working Conditions legislation in your approach. That is standing legislation, but it must be enforced, because those rules already state that the ventilation must be in order.”

We have been consulted by the Ministry, but do not see any of our input reflected in this letter

Furthermore, the AOb for a fund that ensures that teachers and support staff who are ill for a long time from Covid get an extra year of illness. Bee the hotline The union recently received more than 1200 reports. More than 60 percent became infected at school. Another 20 percent suspect it, the black book says. “This too is part of a long-term approach,” says Van Gelder. “We have been consulted by the ministry, but have not yet seen any of our input in this letter.”

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