AOb: 'The government does not take teachers' corona worries seriously enough'
De AOb believes that the cabinet is not properly directing the reopening of primary schools. “The legitimate concerns of teachers and supporters are in no way taken seriously,” says AObdriver Jelmer Evers.
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"The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is guided by haste and not by due diligence when schools are reopened," reports the Ministry of Education. AOb in a statement. For example, the ministry has a so-called service document put online and sent to the schools, which is not coordinated with the educational organizations.
“In a statement, Minister of Education Arie Slob said that the practical guidelines in that document were drawn up in consultation with the representatives of teachers, school leaders and school boards,” said AObdriver Evers. “That is incorrect. Many of our previous concerns and comments are not reflected here. Moreover, we did not get to see the document until the afternoon. We really need more time to see what all this means and how this can be translated into a protocol that is useful at a school. ”
We are not against the reopening of schools. But it must be safe and with attention to all concerns of the employees
According to Evers, this state of affairs does not allay the concerns of the teaching staff. Because there are plenty: “Some of our members believe that the decision to reopen primary schools on February 8 is driven by the election campaigns. The OMT is divided on opening the schools, and how do we reconcile the Dutch measures with the fact that our neighboring countries are taking different measures? ”
Transparent
According to Evers, the cabinet should communicate honestly and transparently about the considerations that have been made. “Instead, they send a unilateral document around. Then you don't take into account what is going on among people in and around the classroom. ”
Evers emphasizes that the AOb is not against the reopening of the schools. “But I would like a safe opening, where all the employees' concerns have been answered. We hope that tomorrow we can address those concerns in a joint protocol from the minister and educational organizations. ”
Also read: Much concern among staff about reopening primary schools
