As covid-19 cases continue to sour in the UK, politicians, medical experts, and teaching unions issue warning to the government to ensure protection before opening the educational institutions. Anika Khan reports.
- The UK government is planning to reopen classrooms that have been conducted remotely for the last few months due to the ongoing pandemic.
- With the new and stronger Cvoid-19 strain found across the UK and the soaring new cases, ministers and the Department of Education are calling out the government to prioritize the protection of the school staff and the pupils.
- They are concerned about the spread of the new strain of covid-19 when the school reopens after the Christmas holidays.
- Medical experts have warned that the new mutated Covid-19 strain can infect the children who can then the barrier to pass it to the older members of their family with underlining health conditions.
- They have urged PM Boris to keep the secondary schools closed till the end of July and impose a stricter national lockdown to bring the Coronavirus infections into control.
- Trade Union Leaders have also joined in raising the voice to delay the opening of the classrooms after the festive holidays’ end.
- The National Education Union’s secretaries requested the government to keep the schools and other educational institutions closed at least for the first two weeks in January.
- This will allow the government and health authorities time to set up mass testing programs for schools before they reopen.
- They have also urged to make exceptions in the case of children with special needs and those of key workers.
- The Unions are urging PM Boris to establish safety guidelines and rules in the light of the new Covid-19 variant.
- They are asking to give special priority to the staff in the educational sectors with access to covid-19 vaccines.
- The government has a duty to do whatever it takes to ensure the safety of schools and colleges amidst a global pandemic. Failing to do so and reopening them will only cause havoc and the pandemic to spiral out of control.
- Shadow education secretary Kate Green said that Boris has failed to be “clear about the advice he has received” from the medical experts.
This shows the litany of his failure “from a lack of funding for safety measures through to the delayed and chaotic announcement of mass testing”. Boris is simply putting the lives of thousands of young children and teachers at great risk.
