The
\nRomanian authorities have promised to make a decision on reopening schools on 2nd
\nFebruary, ahead of the start of the new semester on 8th. Except for
\na couple of months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year,
\nwith teaching being conducted exclusively online, amid discontent from pupils,
\nparents, teachers and NGOs in the field of education. Earlier this month, president
\nKlaus Iohannis himself gave a statement saying that the authorities were
\nconsidering reopening schools on 8th February based on the
\nthree-tier scenario used last autumn and which takes into account the local infection
\nrate. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
While
\neveryone is waiting for the final decision next week, prime minister Florin C\u00ee\u021bu
\nsays what matters is the health situation, emphasising that relaxing conditions
\ntoo much would then put more pressure on the healthcare system. Satisfied,
\ndespite criticism, with the implementation of the vaccine roll-out, the prime
\nminister also spoke of possibly easing some more restrictions. Reopening
\nschools is not dependent on whether teachers have received the Covid vaccine or
\nnot, said education minister Sorin C\u00eempeanu, but on the epidemiological
\nsituation. The risk cannot be completely eliminated in Romania or elsewhere,
\nbut must be kept within manageable limits, explained the minister. He added
\nthat Romania may look for inspiration to other countries in Europe where the
\ninfection rate has stopped rising. Health minister Vlad Voiculescu is warning caution,
\nhowever. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The
\nNational Council of Pupils, which has been very active recently, issued a
\nstatement saying a safe return to school is a race against time. The Council welcomed
\nfrom the start the idea of a decentralised reopening of schools beginning on 8th
\nFebruary, provided safety measures are respected. Pupils deplore, however, the
\nfact that almost two weeks after the authorities’ announcement, schools are yet
\nto receive the instructions or the financial resources needed for a safe return
\nof children to classrooms. We’re one step away from the same chaos we had to
\ndeal with last September […]. We’re calling on the ministry of education and
\nthe ministry of health to act fast and provide by 30th January the
\nnecessary details for the reopening of schools, the National Council of Pupils
\nsaid in the statement. (CM)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Its still uncertain if schools can reopen for in-person learning in Romania on 8 February, as the authorities intend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":85979,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[35416,35673],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-87883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-pandemic","tag-schools"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n