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Schools send classes home en masse

In many primary schools, school directors are forced to send classes home because of corona infections and teacher shortages. A poll on Facebook - turned off by the AOb - confirms this image. The poll came online yesterday and already there are more than 1500 responses. More than a thousand people report that their school sends a class home several times a week.

Tekst Karen Hagen - Redactie Onderwijsblad - - 3 Minuten om te lezen

sending classes home

Image: Nino Maissouradze

The poll is published in the Facebook group Po in Action which includes many teaching staff from primary education and provides an indication. More than 250 people indicate in the poll that a group has to go home once every two weeks at their school. Slightly fewer people check the 'once a month' option. With 80 responses, it concerns a dropout of once a week. Hundreds of people say that all classes at their school are taught as normal.

Unworkable

“This goes beyond all boundaries of good education,” says AOb-driver Thijs Roovers who started the poll. “Structural investments are necessary, because in addition to all the challenges, such as corona, our sector also struggles with a teacher shortage. This combination makes the situation increasingly unworkable: increasing infections, quarantine situations that are often unclear, the bizarre workload, a flu wave and stagnant testing capacity. It is almost impossible for schools to provide good education.”

AObdirector Thijs Roovers: 'This crosses all boundaries of good education'

 

Especially corona and the shortage of replacements is the reason that the number of classes at home is increasing rapidly again. 'We currently have a major outbreak in both kindergarten groups. Colleagues and students in other groups have also tested positive,' is one of the reactions. Another reports that her school is closed for five days due to the many infections. Another also sees colleagues sitting at home with a roommate who has corona. 'A week of online lessons on the advice of the GGD.'

De AObpoll on the social medium LinkedIn - a total of 155 people voted - shows the same. More people than just from primary education will probably have voted here. Nearly four in ten people say they had to send classes home several times this week. 20 percent say this is the case once a week and 19 percent about once every two weeks. A school director from Brabant says through this medium that all care has been scaled down at her school for many weeks, the internal supervisors stand for the group just like themselves. 'Good guidance and development is partly at a standstill.'

A Brabant school director says that care has been scaled down at her school for many weeks

Online lesson

Secondary schools are also seeing the infections increase. The Josemmavo in Tilburg was forced to give all classes online this week, due to the many infections among students and staff.

Regional media also write about the situation in education. Education director Geert Bijleveld of the Marenland education foundation in Groningen reports at RTV Noord that he will probably have to introduce a four-day school week at schools in Northeast Groningen this year.

Infections

Yesterday brought it Education magazine the news that about XNUMX confirmed corona infections come from educational staff. This is evident from data from the RIVM. In the Algemeen Dagblad experts are proposing to extend the Christmas holidays in order to also reduce the high number of corona infections among children.

Christmas break

De AOb is for an extension of the Christmas holidays in primary school if it is not already too late. The union also has major questions about ventilation. Roovers: "Many schools are not in order and those lists are not even made public. Rutte starts every press conference with a statement about ventilation. We don't even know where the ventilation is not or is in order." The AOb- board member wants to consult with the sector, other unions and school boards as soon as possible. Roovers: “We have to see what is needed now. Measures that we can implement immediately are not ouders more in the school and a booster shot for all teaching staff. I ask the OMT to take the unworkable practical situation into account. And it would be good if there were also clear OMT advice for secondary education."

Do you want to stay informed of the latest news from primary and secondary education? Download the AObapp in the Appstore of Playstore and check po and/or vo.

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