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“The situation in schools is reaching a critical point,” emphasizes the highest representative of teachers Paul Kimberger (FCG). To alleviate the places with a narrow spatial situation, therefore, they must carry out part of the lessons in alternative places. Federal school spokeswoman Alexandra Bosek is in favor of switching to shift work.
Bad weather has exacerbated the situation in schools, Kimberger said. The number of infections in society has increased overall, it is the time of flu-like infections and students and teachers spend their days in sometimes crowded classrooms. Ventilation is sometimes not possible there due to structural requirements.
Long wait for corona test results
The result: “We already have a large number of students and teachers in quarantine,” says Kimberger. In some places, therefore, there are problems continuing with the lessons. According to figures from the Ministry of Education, the number of classes closed by health authorities is still manageable: in the last two weeks it has increased from 69 to 199 (with a total of 55,000 classes), a figure that Kimberger seems to be too low. The reason for the quarantine is, of course, in most cases a long wait for the test result, which is usually negative anyway. Here the health authorities would have to be even faster and finally proceed in a uniform manner.
To reduce the incidence of infections in schools, Kimberger is in favor of the use of additional rooms such as the already empty community or association function rooms. This is already possible for the moment, according to the Ministry of Education, the provider of the school (and therefore the municipalities in the case of compulsory schools) would be in charge of renting them.
“If the situation worsens, one should at least consider shift work before reverting to a general lockdown situation,” Kimberger suggested for districts with particularly high numbers of infections. At the Corona traffic light of the Ministry of Education, the possibility of distance learning and shift operation with an orange traffic light is only provided for the upper level. Recently, the government has emphasized over and over again that schools should remain open as long as possible.
Student council asks for shift work
Meanwhile, the spokeswoman for the federal school Bosek of the ÖVP-affiliated student union calls for a change to general shift work as quickly as possible. Problems are not expected in the upper grades. For the younger ones, you must also have been careful in those days when they don’t really have face-to-face teaching. “Matura’s classes are very afraid of a second confinement,” he emphasizes.
He also sees the need for a change in the classroom: he advocates restricting physical education classes, where groups of students mix, no one wears masks, and distances are not kept. According to the crown traffic light of the Ministry of Education, from the yellow color (which currently applies to most schools), lessons in gyms are only allowed under certain conditions (small groups, ventilation, not contact sports).
According to Bosek, following basic hygiene and safety measures (keeping your distance, washing your hands) works quite well for high school students, but not for high school classes. She would like the class board to regularly remind students of the currently applicable rules and also to be informed about the infection situation at the respective school to avoid neglect and unfounded fears on the part of the students.
Ventilation problems
Bosek pinpoints problems when it comes to ventilation: “There is a lot of ventilation, which means the students have more colds.” Kimberger also admits that there are obviously problems here at some schools. Therefore, he would like the Ministry of Education and the Directorates of Education to clarify how virologists and experts recommend the best way to ventilate.
By the way, he sees the need to act not only in the schools themselves, but also when arriving: “The school buses are completely overcrowded, so you cannot keep your distance,” he criticizes. However, there have been improvements here and there compared to the start of school, in that coordination has been improved and additional means of transportation have been made available.
Petition for parent associations
Austrian parents associations launched a petition on Tuesday in this context. They demand that all children have a safe seat on the school bus. Currently, children under the age of six are not counted at all, and for those under 14, three children count as two people. This means that a bus with 50 seats and 37 standing places can currently transport up to 130 children.
Meanwhile, FPÖ education spokesman Hermann Brückl identified a “hustle” in the government’s relations with schools in a broadcast on Tuesday. “Although many school principals come up with concepts that would allow for regulated and above all safe school operations, schools are still closed time and time again.” In addition, children “often have to follow the lessons for hours with the windows open.” In view of the low number of infections in schools, he called on the Minister of Education, Heinz Faßmann (ÖVP), to “allow greater foresight and rationality”.
