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