The head of the Association of Grammar School Principals and the director of the Nad Štolou Grammar School in Prague, Renata Schejbalová, stated that she did not consider the return of students in March to be realistic for several reasons. According to her, directors need at least a week of preparation. They must get acquainted with the manual, inform pupils and teachers, organize everything.
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“I think that the entry of pupils to school on March 1 is already unrealistic. Even with regard to the increasing number of cases of illness, unresolved tender and the like. Schools do not yet have any information on how the testing should take place, “Schejbalová told the News.
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Libor Grubhoffer, virologist and director of the Biological Center of the Academy of Sciences, also said in an interview with Seznam Zprávy that he did not consider the return of children to school in March to be a good idea.
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“In my opinion, it is very unrealistic. I think the situation is so serious that it is not at all reasonable to think about it. Even if the tests end up. The Ministries of Education and Health need to work and prepare for the possibility of returning to schools, not that it’s worth it, “added Grubhoffer.
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According to the head of the Association of Primary School Principals Michal Černý, the return of ninth graders was considered in mid-March. Now, according to him, it depends on how the tender for tests will turn out. He hopes that the situation will improve by mid-March and that ninth-graders will join the benches. At the same time, however, he admits that the current epidemic situation is bad and there is no value in pushing children back to school.
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“We will not shout in this situation, put the children in schools when the numbers are getting worse. I have signals from many colleagues that caution is really appropriate, “Černý warned.
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Adherence to the deadline of March 1 for the return of some pupils to schools is also unlikely, according to Jiří Zajíček, chairman of the Union of School Associations of CZESHA. According to him, it will depend not only on how the government resolves the controversial tender for suppliers of tests for schools today, but also on the speed of distribution of tests to schools. “If they got to the Czech Republic on Sunday, February 28, the return of the pupils would probably have to be postponed by at least a few days,” Zajíček told ČTK today.
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The list of reports also addressed the Minister of Education, Robert Plaga (for YES), whether he considers it appropriate for children to return to school in March. However, Plaga does not want to comment on the topic before the government meeting. He is said to provide the comment only after the meeting this afternoon.
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Also Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) this weekend in interview for the Report List stated: “If there is a time criterion, it is not written anywhere that the children actually return to school on the third of March. It will simply depend on the epidemic situation. So the argument that we have to do everything quickly, I can’t accept that, because the whole competition for antigen tests was very strange. I will want it to be canceled and bought by Pavel Švagr, head of state reserves. “
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The coronavirus pandemic has hit Czech education particularly hard. Czech children are according to finding The list of News at home compared to the rest of Europe the longest.
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