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State culture ministries see “no reason to panic” despite the increasing number of corona cases in schools. They don’t believe in closing schools across the board. The teachers’ association had sounded the alarm.
During the first closure in spring, schools and kindergartens were generally closed for weeks, with considerable economic, social and psychological consequences for parents and children. Based on this experience, the federal and state governments decided to leave schools and daycare centers open “as long as possible” during the current “November closure,” despite the risk of infection. This is a political and social prioritization.
Bad decision? The Association of German Teachers raised the alarm today: Meanwhile, more than 300,000 students are in quarantine, according to the director of the association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger. Furthermore, around 30,000 teachers are currently affected by the quarantine measures. Meidinger accused the policy of inaction.
“No exorbitant growth”
The objections came from the ministries of education of the federal states. The numbers from the teachers’ association are no reason to get excited, said Baden-Württemberg Culture Minister Susanne Eisenmann in SWR. In Baden-Württemberg, for example, there are fewer classes in quarantine than four weeks ago. Even assuming there are 300,000 students out of a total of 11 million in quarantine in Germany, this is neither an “exorbitant increase” nor a “cause for panic,” said the CDU politician.
In Baden-Württemberg, 374 of the 67,500 classes are currently in quarantine, which is “not even one percent,” the minister said. Therefore, he urgently advises you to “pay attention to moderation and proportion” in discussion. You don’t want to downplay the number of diseases. Each case is an infection that must be followed up. But to conclude from this on the general account that schools must now be closed again, consider them “with all due respect, completely inappropriate.”
In Germany there are around 40,000 schools with a total of eleven million students and around 800,000 teachers.
Large majority against school closings
Eisenmann rejected the accusation of the Association of German Teachers that politics no longer acts preventively, only reacts. Of course, health authorities are responsible if an infection occurs, and not just in schools. “This is not a new process, and no one is avoiding it.” She highly recommends that you trust experts. 86 percent of parents are “grateful and happy” that schools are open, he said in view of the current trend in Germany.
Baden-Württemberg wants to keep schools open in all areas. The continuous system, one week of face-to-face lessons, one week of online lessons, was practiced between Pentecost and the summer holidays, the CDU politician continued. At that time he was “heavily criticized.” Therefore, rely on face-to-face teaching. “We want to react at the regional and local level where an infection occurs, but not close the 4,500 schools statewide.”
Manageable risk
Also in Brandenburg, the risk of a corona spreading in the state’s more than 900 schools is so far controllable. “We currently have four schools closed, with 915 schools in Brandenburg which is manageable,” Education Minister Britta Ernst told the state parliament in Potsdam. “But we have a lot of learning groups in quarantine. This is a targeted reaction to infection events and we also have a focus on Cottbus.”
The SPD politician was open to investigating the purchase of air filters for classrooms. “I think it is justified that we review it again.” However, he noted that the Federal Environment Agency advises classic ventilation: mobile air purifiers in classrooms or at home could not replace active ventilation.
The Federal Council of Parents speaks of “failure”
The president of the Federal Council of Parents, Stephan Wassmuth, accused the federal states of failure. “When it comes to children’s health, we have to accept that school operations will be restricted again if necessary.” Then everything possible should be done to organize care, especially for children, for whom it could not be guaranteed otherwise.
Federal Minister of Education Anja Karliczek, on the other hand, advocated a positive vision. They managed to keep the schools open up to here. As of today, it is expected that the number of infections stabilizes, said the CDU politician regarding the question of whether a school closure is imminent.
Mask requirement extension?
The role schools play in the spread of the coronavirus is controversial. No consistent study results are available. According to the Robert Koch Institute, school children are not “drivers” of the pandemic, but are “in principle susceptible to infection by Sars-CoV-2 and can infect others.”
Schools have several options to reduce the risk of infection, for example dividing classes or expanding the requirement for masks. Federal Education Minister Karliczek had advocated Tuesday for a blanket mask requirement in all school classes. According to Health Minister Jens Spahn, the federal and state governments want to discuss this at their meeting on Monday.
Previous Christmas holidays at NRW?
The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia brought WDR-TV extended the winter holidays in the most populous federal state at stake. It’s a “conceivable possibility” to start winter break two days early, on December 21 instead of December 23. The two days of vacation could be discounted again at Carnival. The background of the considerations is that people should limit their contacts as much as possible before Christmas so that there are no infections in family celebrations at Christmas.
The Federal Minister of Health, Spahn, was open to the proposal of North Rhine-Westphalia. “That is certainly part of the debate, also for Monday or for the next few weeks,” he told RTL and n-tv. The minister emphasized that planning was important for parents, children and teachers. With the measure proposed by Laschet, this happens.
