Fact review. Will schools have a wallet for each student? – observer

This Monday, September 14, António Costa marked the beginning of the school year at the Escola Secundária de Benavente. And it was there that the Prime Minister made his speech, warning of what is going to be “a troubled school year,” arguing that it is only with “caution” that back to school in times of the Covid-19 pandemic may have fewer surprises. After underlining “that the school itself does not transmit the virus to anyone”, Costa recalled that educational establishments must operate according to a special organization that implies one room per class and one chair per student. But will things happen anyway?

No, say the two representatives of the public school principals, especially when it comes to one position per pupil.

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This morning I visited the secondary school in Benavente and I could see how everything is prepared, with the commitment of the entire educational community, to receive the students for a new academic year. We cannot continue to pay a price for the closure of schools, for the inequalities generated by the absence of face-to-face education and for sacrificing the learning processes of future generations. This year there is a new risk. Caution is essential. School administration can do the best job they can, as can teachers or operational assistants, but if all students and families don’t do their best, it doesn’t work. Families have reason to trust the schools, the people who work there, and the ability to make it through this school year. Benavente, September 14, 2020. #antoniocosta #primeiroministro #xxiigoverno #republicaportuguesa #educacao #escolas #ensino #benavente #portugal (Photos: Paulo Vaz Henriques)

A post shared by António Costa PM (@antoniocostapm) on September 14, 2020 at 5:59 am PDT

What did the Prime Minister say specifically? “This sense of caution is essential. And precaution means wearing the mask – and, at school, always wearing the mask – disinfecting your hands, washing your hands as many times as possible, keeping your distance, complying with the rules of the circuits that are defined, and this organization special. when the school will have to function, as if watertight boxes were created between each class, so that each classroom is only for one class, each wallet is only for one student, that the places are always the same to find out if, with an infected student, what is the universe of close contacts and we can act quickly ”.

Manuel Pereira, president of ANDE, the national association of school leaders, gives as an example the schools he runs in the General Serpa Pinto group of Cinfães.

Costa warns: “It will be a school year with problems”, but the “price to pay” for schools to remain closed was higher

“Of course it is not possible. In the vast majority of schools it is not possible to have waterproof cases when there are not even individual desks. I understand the intention of the Prime Minister, it is correct, but he also knows that the schools are all different. In my case, since I have more classes than classrooms, I cannot have what we call the mother room for each group of students ”, explains Manuel Pereira.

In Cinfães it was not even possible to divide the classes into shifts since, recalls the director, public transport that takes students to school arrives at 8:30 am and leaves at 5:30 pm, with no other options on the way . “To have one room per group of students, I needed about eight fewer classes than I have. In each room there are 14 to 15 double tables. Classes are around 20 students, so you can see that it is impossible to have one ID per student ”, underlines the president of ANDE, who also says that he does not have enough auxiliary personnel.

“The people at my school decided to offer me, without receiving anything in return, an extra hour of work a day because they know that we are living in extraordinary times. Instead of 7 hours, they are going to work 8 hours a day, which is an exceptional offer on their part, ”she told the Observer.

Filinto Lima, president of ANDAEP, the national association of directors of public groups and schools, believes that getting one room per class is not impossible, but he believes that it is unlikely that schools can have one ID per student.

In their schools, in the Dr. Costa Matos group, in Vila Nova de Gaia, it was necessary to carry out work to transform spaces that were used only for specific subjects -such as Visual Education, Technology, Music or Physical Education- to ensure that each group of students have their own space. As for the desks, I think it will be difficult to have one per student, and sometimes it is even impossible, because most schools have double desks and the classrooms do not increase in size ”. The director also says that, in some of them, “even a distance of one meter between students will be impossible to meet”, and stresses that, for him, the most important measure to avoid contagion will be the use of a mask.

Contrary to what the Prime Minister says, and although the intention is that most schools operate according to a special organization, it is not true that in all schools in the country there will be one room per class and one chair per student, being the Student places are always the same.

Thus, according to the Observer’s classification system, this content is:

INCORRECT

NOTE– This article was produced as part of a fact-checking partnership between Observer and TVI