Three in four children attend classes in person
More than 2 million preschool children and pupils in Romania attend classes in person.
Daniela Budu, 15.11.2021, 14:00
Classes in a physical format are held only in the schools where 60% of teachers have been vaccinated, irrespective of the infection rate in the locality. The Education Ministry has requested the removal of this condition in localities with an infection rate below 3 cases per one thousand inhabitants, but the Health Ministry disagreed for epidemiological reasons. The latter recommends keeping measures in place for a certain period of time, to see their effects, and then introduce new criteria. Nevertheless, according to the Education Ministry, another way of calculating the infection rate was needed. At present, a school can open if the vaccination rate among its teaching staff is at least 60%, even if this criterion has not been met at the level of the entire education unit. Nevertheless, there are almost 5,000 schools that will continue holding classes online and 13,000 that have been reopened.
Authorities have announced that kindergartens and pre-university schools will test children and pupils twice a week with rapid antigen tests that use saliva, tests that should be distributed to schools this week. The Health Ministry says that the testing procedure is simple and easy, and does not require expert medical knowledge. State Secretary with the Health Ministry Andrei Baciu said that by having pupils tested, an increase in the number of infections could be avoided. Andrei Baciu: “Pupils will be tested in school. There is a protocol in place in this respect, that will be followed by every school. Pupils who test positive will undergo a PCR or antigen test for confirmation, as this is the most reliable test available. It is not a very complex procedure, but a quite simple one, which I believe most Romanians have performed. So we must work systematically, to reduce the number of infections.”
Two large trade unions in education have said in a release that the teaching staff cannot be obligated to test pupils in schools and want them to be tested at home. The unions have called on the Government to change its decision. In their opinion the decision, as it is now, will block the activity of schools and turn them into Covid hotbeds. Moreover, a poll conducted among teachers by the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation, shows that three quarters of respondents do not want to supervise pupils while they perform the rapid tests that use saliva. (EE)
