Principal slaughters chaos in quarantine – wants schools to be closed

The TV 2 survey shows that there is a corona infection in more than 100 Norwegian schools across the country. The pressure of infection is particularly high in Oslo and Bergen.

Ny Krohnborg Primary and Lower Secondary School in Bergen has a quarter of students in quarantine. It creates a lot of extra work for the school administration and double work for the teachers.

For each infected student, the school must check the schedules to find all close contacts in the last 48 hours and inform all parents, who speak many languages.

– Half the workweek is dedicated to this, says Kim Sander (50), who also receives calls from concerned teachers on weekends and at night.

When the quarantine ends for someone, it is sent to others, then the same round dance must be repeated.

– I’m afraid this will continue until we are completely exhausted, says the director.

School will close

The school is now run by nearly half of the substitutes, who must teach in the classroom and additionally provide digital instruction to quarantined students. Students with special needs do not receive substitutes with the necessary competence.

– It would have been easier if everyone was quarantined or everyone was homeschooled, says Sander.

– Would you like national measures for schools?

– It would have been easier to relate to him. Now we have to evaluate it ourselves, and all schools are required to evaluate it on a completely individual basis, he says.

The best thing would have been to close the school completely for three weeks and then reopen, the principal believes.

Other schools also tell TV 2 about the quarantine chaos:

• The Rothaugen school has had four separate quarantines with different classes and steps. Principal Hanne Hovland spends several hours each day figuring out who needs to be notified and how the school day should go.
• First-grade students at Møhlenpris school were quarantined for the third time on Monday.

Kjartan Navarsete, principal of the Møhlenpris school in Bergen, sighs when speaking to TV 2. He explains that the first graders only made it one week in school, before they were sent straight to the new quarantine. It describes a very demanding situation for teachers, students and their parents.

Will keep schools open

The Bergen School Board, Endre Tvinnereim (Labor Party), recognizes that the situation in Bergen schools is very demanding.

– It’s a long-term situation with a lot of wear and tear, he says about the double work of the schools.

– What do you say when a director now asks for a closure?

– In Bergen, the infectious assessment is that we keep yellow until further notice, says Tvinnereim.

– It is to give everyone the most normal daily life possible, he says.

If schools are marked with a red level, infection control measures will be very strict. The City Council commends the efforts of all schools.

– They have routines and a lot of experience now and they do a very good job, he says.