The association stressed this in an open letter to the Minister of Education, Claude Meisch, and lists a number of thoughts and questions that it thinks should be addressed as soon as possible.
The association points out that parents with children attending classes in Cycle 1 or one of the centres of competence would have preferred to decide themselves if they want their children to return to school.
According to the parents association, this case in particular is very important to them as it is almost impossible for children in this age group as well as those with specific needs to apply the sanitary measures.
If a return to school had been voluntary for those children, there would have been more classrooms and teachers available for the other grades.
As for the splitting practice the association asks itself if this model would even work in practice. Instead, the parents association would have preferred a simpler and less confusing solution for both parents and pupils.
The association welcomed that the ministry hired more personnel to work in primary schools and day care centres. However, it questioned the selection criteria and especially the qualifications, competence, and experience of these new workers.
The parents association also regrets that the minister never mentions the centres of competence in his public speeches and during press briefings. This would leave parents of those children in the dark.
The association also suggests encouraging all teachers and child carers – not just those in the centres of competence – to engage in outdoor activities. This could compensate for PE classes, which are currently not taking place.
Questions also remain when it comes to secondary schools. Mainly, the association stated that it remained unclear how grades would be calculated. It went on to state that initially, there had been talks of the possibility to take an additional exam and/or to drop a bad grade.
The association pointed out that after the period of distant learning and the resulting increased inequality, this was an important point that needed to be clarified.
In order to compensate for inequality, the parents association demanded in its open letter to the minister that the website schouldoheem.lu should remain online with all its functions over the entire summer period. The association would also support free private lessons for pupils during that time.
