The SEW’s statement seeks to draw attention to what it calls a “critical” situation in Luxembourg’s primary schools as Covid infections run high. The syndicate said that parents and teachers were losing trust and confidence in the Ministry of Education after the latter failed to communicate “honestly and openly”.
At the moment, schools are having to operate at extremely short notice, with Covid and quarantine reducing staff and student levels at an unprecedented rate. SEW called the current sanitary measures “a facade and blind activism”, as it had not been feasible to trace chains of infection for some time now. The procedures are also not clear, it added.
Many students have spent weeks in quarantine and homeschool this school year, and it was evident the programme was not working, the union continued. A long-term pedagogical plan is now needed to support pupils who have missed school and to make up deficits in their learning.
The addition of air filters has led to a so-called two-class society in schools, added the union. As the ministry has failed to implement a ventilation system across the country, some municipalities have stepped up to the challenge themselves. SEW/OGBL campaigned for the installation of air filters in classrooms over a year ago.
The union went on to say that the regional directors do not appear to grasped the gravity of the situation. According to the press release, directors are refusing to use pedagogically trained staff, employed in administrative capacities in schools, to support with teaching on the ground despite the current critical phase.
