Three scenarios for the reopening of schools

Schools are re-opening on February 8 depending on the evolution of the pandemic in each area

Daniela Budu, 04.02.2021, 14:00

Taking under advisement the methodology
employed in most European states, Romania too will be reopening its schools
starting on February 8. The Government in Bucharest has adopted three scenarios
based on which classes in the second half of the school year will be conducted
with the physical attendance of pupils or not. Starting Monday, over 2.4 of the
total of 3 million pupils will be reverting to physical attendance of school
classes, Education Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu has said. The green, yellow or red
scenarios will be enacted at the level of each area, depending on the incidence
of COVID infections. Sorin Cîmpeanu:

In the green scenario, children
enrolled in the pre-school, elementary and middle-school systems will be
returning to physical attendance in class, wherever the infection rate is 1 or
lower. The next scenario provides for an infection rate of 3 per thousand or
lower. In this case, only elementary and pre-school children will be going to
schools, in addition to terminal-year pupils. In the third scenario, which
provides for an infection rate over 3 per thousand, but no higher than 6 per
thousand, only elementary and pre-school children will have physical class
attendance.

The Romanian official also said that,
whenever the infection rates exceeds 6 per thousand inhabitants, the given area
will automatically enter quarantine, schools will be shut down and pupils will
return to remote teaching. The novelty regarding the three scenarios is that
hybrid forms of teaching are removed in the yellow scenario, which divided the
class in two groups of pupils who attended classes in schools on a rotation
basis. My experience in the education system makes me believe the system
doesn’t work. One of the reasons for abandoning the hybrid form of teaching is
that teachers find it very hard to teach half their pupils in class and the
other half online, at the same time, Minister Sorin Cîmpeanu has told a
private television station. Moreover, the minister went on to say, starting
next semester, pupils will be seated in pairs at the same desk while plexiglass
shields will be removed, even in classes with 30 pupils. Both pupils and the
teaching staff will have to wear face masks and observe hygiene regulations.
The authorities’ decision on reopening schools starting Monday has prompted
diverging reactions from the political class. The Liberals believe the
reopening of schools will test both the local administration, and school
principals. In turn, the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, a ruling
coalition party, has hailed the decision, arguing the party has been advocating
this move since November last year. The Social-Democrats in opposition claims
schools are not ready to have pupils return to physical class attendance.
Senator Gabriela Firea claims under 10% of teachers are vaccinated and the
Government has presented no plan for a mass-vaccination of pupils and teachers.