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More teachers want to use face masks in their teaching. Take care of the municipality of Bergen.
City Director Trine Samuelsberg will not allow teachers to wear masks while teaching students. Photo: Hedvig Idås (archive)
The time has come for the authorities’ recommendation not to wear bandages at school, according to the National Association of Schools.
– More and more teachers feel scared and want to wear face masks in teaching. Then they should be allowed to do so, acting union leader Terje Moen tells NTB.
To this day, both the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) and the Directorate of Education (Udir) recommend that bandages not be used in schools. This applies to both students and staff in elementary, middle and high school.
The same applies to children and employees in kindergartens.
– It becomes infected in other areas.
The municipal director of kindergarten, school and sports in Bergen, Trine Samuelsberg, says they have received several inquiries from concerned teachers who want to wear a mask at school.
– We know that daily school life is demanding, but for us it is important to follow medical advice. Both the NIPH and the Norwegian Directorate of Education are clear in their recommendations. Although we have many infections at school, we have no indication that teachers or students are heavily infected at school. In the vast majority of cases, the infection can be traced to other areas, Samuelsberg says.
She says they have also consulted with medical director Trond Egil Hansen about the use of face masks in teaching.
– It is clear that facial masks are not recommended or necessary. Neither I nor the principals of each school have the competence to make such an evaluation, he says.
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City Director Trine Samuelsberg says teachers can wear bandages during breaks and when working with colleagues. Photo: Silje Katrine Robinson
Believes that teachers should decide for themselves
Terje Moen of the National Association of Schools believes it is “outright unheard of” that tired and frightened teachers should not be allowed to wear masks in teaching.
The National Association requires that teachers be given the confidence to decide on the use of face masks themselves based on how they perceive the situation in their workplace.
– National authorities should include this in infection control guidelines, Terje Moen tells NTB.
Samuelsberg tells BT that if teachers want to wear masks during breaks and when working with colleagues, of course they should be able to do so, but not when teaching students.
Samuelsberg refers to the responsibility of teachers to communicate with children.
– It is important that teacher and student see each other, she says.
Students are also not allowed to wear face masks at school.
– Young children should not wear bandages because it can be difficult to breathe. We also don’t want older students to wear face masks, as it’s not recommended, he says.
The same rules also apply to employees in the city’s municipal kindergartens.
