Recommendations not to take children to kindergarten have collapsed: educators feel pushed to the front line

An educator working in a kindergarten in a small town in western Lithuania 15 minutes He said that 10 children will come to his group this week. In a small community, everyone knows each other, so it is clear that the mothers of eight children do not work. “It just came to our knowledge then. Mothers bring their children and say that they do not get along at home, that they do not listen, that they tire of themselves. As an educator, it saddens me infinitely. I risk my health, my health. family, we don’t see relatives. And those who really need to go to work and be in front of the machine all day are taken to kindergarten, “said the woman who works as an educator. According to her, parents continue to believe that not marrying children is just a recommendation and they will do it until it is prohibited.

“We know that some kindergartens have asked their parents to present certificates from employers that they cannot work remotely. Ours did not, it was left to the conscience of the parents. And we don’t see it, ”lamented the teacher. He didn’t hide the fact that children’s stories hurt too. After the weekend, he often brags about having guests or going with relatives.

Data from the National Center for Public Health reports that coronavirus cases are still being reported in nurseries. Due to the spread of COVID-19, the activities of three kindergartens in Klaipeda have been completely suspended.

The workers closed their doors, the unemployed stayed open

Vaida of Klaipeda found himself in an ambiguous situation. The mother of two young people did not hide that since mid-December, employees of the company where they work have been sent to work from home. For several weeks, he successfully took the children to kindergarten and worked quietly. One day, however, the educators asked for a certificate stating that they couldn’t do the work remotely. She had no such certificate.

“The children stayed at home, the kindergarten position sounded strict. For two weeks I tried to combine work and babysitting. I must say it was difficult. Therefore, I had to take the opportunity to take advantage of state aid, that is, to apply for Sodra benefits. But I feel an injustice: here is my neighbor, who is taking care of a child because he has a baby from the first year, who is not yet in kindergarten, and successfully takes another child to an educational institution. Nobody asked for any certificate. The city is the same and the law is interpreted differently, ”Vaida got angry.

According to her, it may be more beneficial for the state to have a working mother at home than to pay for another benefit.

As he became interested, as is the case in other institutions, he saw that the situations were even more diverse. Mothers who are already paid by the state for childcare during quarantine have also made up the task of taking children to educational institutions. Married mothers whose activities are prohibited due to the pandemic, such as hairdressers, manicurists, are also married.

One in three mothers does not work

Aušra Zarambienė, director of the Klaipėda kindergarten “Ąžuoliukas”, did not hide: the situation saddens the teachers. “Initially, it was announced that only parents who could not work remotely would be accepted. The provision was later modified to allow telecommuters to marry but cannot provide quality child care due to the nature of the work. And now we see a situation where in some groups a quarter, in some places and a third, in others and more, of children whose mothers are housewives or unemployed, or because of quarantine restrictions. There is no control mechanism because parents rely on a law that is based on a recommendation, “said the head of the institution.

Parents were asked to write requests if they needed to take their child to kindergarten during quarantine and indicate the reason why they needed kindergarten. Some parents identified those who worked at a job they couldn’t do remotely. “But there were also those who simply wrote that the child lacked friends, that he gets bored at home. Or write that there are three children at home and it is too difficult. When I am asked if it is possible to take a child to kindergarten, I always say that we have to see what our priority is at the moment: handling a pandemic or peace without a child? ”- said A. Zarambienė rhetorically.

Does not see the need to report the disease

According to her, preschool and preschool workers were at the forefront of managing the pandemic after doctors, officials and vendors.

“We really want more awareness from parents. After all, we see that there are also older workers in kindergartens who go to work at the risk of their health. In the fall, we saw that parents are more confident in informing them that they are infected with the virus, but then the situation changed and the institution cannot even report. Here is an example: no longer in the child’s group, the educator calls to ask what happened. Mom responds, her voice is numb, she coughs loudly, confirms that she has been diagnosed with cystitis. The educator asks why the institution was not informed, because the child was in the institution two days ago. She simply replied: why do I have to tell someone about my illness? People don’t think about those around them, they just don’t respect them. The problem is that children are rarely tested, although they usually have an asymptomatic form, ”said the interlocutor. A. Zarambienė pointed out that in such cases, when a teacher becomes infected, but the source cannot be traced, he cannot claim the benefit in case of an occupational disease.

Virginija Letukienė, the director of another Klaipėda kindergarten “Puriena”, has a similar opinion.

“Perhaps parents find it more convenient for educators to have fewer children in groups, easier to work and therefore ask not to marry. Don’t think about the risks. Now that there is no strict regulatory position, we cannot change anything. Tell parents why they need kindergarten. There are several answers, “said the head of Puriena.

Two groups from Puriena closed this week. In both cases, the prevalence of COVID-19 is not related: the groups are not found. “At the end of December, only a few children were being taken in and we had no cases at the institution. In January, parents became more active, the number of children in groups increased, and this is a sad result. We are doing everything in accordance with all the requirements, for us it has already become blood, but cases have still been registered ”, lamented V. Letukienė. He also lacked awareness and honesty on the part of parents who are ill or have had close contact with a sick person. Parents usually do not see the need to test a child, so kindergartens are not aware of cases of infection.

Almost half of the children attend

Laima Prižgintienė, director of the Klaipėda City Municipality Education Department, stated that slightly different rules apply to preschool-age children in schools and that children’s attendance is more strictly regulated there.

“Other institutions are obliged to ask their parents for certificates of why they need a kindergarten. We see that after the new ones, when more children were introduced to the groups, the virus spread again. If you ask my opinion, I think we really need a stricter procedure. However, parents who have been sitting at home for a long time may no longer survive financially and are looking for ways to earn a living. Each case can be individual. Perhaps, in fact, a mother with several children cannot guarantee the quality of her education. Perhaps the child has emotional difficulties and a kindergarten is necessary for the child. There are all sorts of situations and they are very individual “, – said L. Prižgintienė. According to his data, currently around 45% of the attendance at Klaipėda pre-school and pre-school education. At the end of December, attendance was lower, around 30%.

Attendance at Vitė Progymnasium’s preschool education classes reached almost 100% a week ago. But these days, a little less than half remains. According to progymnasium director Renata Venckienė, the parents were asked for a certificate as to why they could not provide childcare and their children needed contact education. More than half of the parents were unable to provide such certificates.

“We are a school, not a kindergarten. I must say that we have taken into account the requests of the parents. We understand that a teacher who remotely teaches a course to older students or students all day will not be able to adequately care for the preschool child, ”said the director of the progymnasium.

The format of the recommendations is faulty

Kristina Paulikė, director of the Parents for Education Association, agreed that in some cases the recommendation format just doesn’t work and is flawed.

Especially it loses its meaning when we talk about situations related to the norms, procedures, rules of society that they propose to follow. If a person has the motivation to follow those recommendations, for example in professional activities, they will work, but if we are talking about some kind of universal order, some people will think carefully about what is most useful at that time. It is very difficult to expect mass civic awareness and, in some cases, it is necessary to put that format aside. It just won’t work and will lead to misunderstandings, chaos, dissatisfaction, and even social injustice. We have a threatening pandemic situation, which in some cases does not require clear guidelines, but rather very clear procedures on who and what to do, where and how to proceed. This is necessary to avoid ambiguous questions to anyone and to prevent abuses, violations of the law, etc. As long as our society does not have a civic conscience, we will not do without clear rules that must be followed ”, is convinced K. Paulikė.

Ministry: parents must provide certificates

Representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports 15 minutes posted a concise comment on the matter.

“Preschool education is an independent function of the municipalities. Therefore, municipalities or other owners of a kindergarten or school, if the kindergarten, school is private, can set requirements for the admission of children. For example, in some municipalities the admission of children has been restricted since mid-December, in some of the parents (guardians) certified to bring certificates from employers who do not work remotely ”, writes the comment.

Minister of Health – Chief of Operations Arūnas Dulkis in 2021. January 20 the resolution established to oblige the parents, adoptive parents, guardians of the student to present the employer certificates or other documents requested by the municipal administrations in accordance with the procedure established by municipal administrations when requesting supervision services.