A rather historical press release was shared last week by seven school syndicates of the Grand Duchy, demanding the minister of education to make the return to school for final-year students optional.
For all school syndicates to come together with one common voice has been unheard of in the past. The statement is supported by the SEW, Feduse, APESS, AGESS, ACEN, UNEL and CNEL.
The minister’s stubborn attitude is incomprehensible, says Jules Barthel of the OGBL’s educational syndicate, the SEW: “All the unions, student organisations and parents’ associations share a common concern about re-entry this week. [The minister] behaves as if he were the only one to know the truth.”
The SEW has a preference for voluntary attendance during the phased re-entry period. Feduse, the federation of national universities, believes many questions remain unanswered.
According to the federation’s Raoul Scholtes, this is partly due to a lack of transparency and information coming from the education ministry: “We understand that consultations are not always possible in a crisis period, but even the information shared with us was limited. Many matters we heard about through the media for the first time. Communication from the ministry is a bit like the rain: nothing at the start, now only a little. We hope this doesn’t lead to medium and long-term problems.” This view is shared also by the national student union.
The UNEL has little understanding for compulsory attendance this week and further criticises the communication exchange with the ministry, says Vicky Reichling: “We understand we’re living in a crisis situation, but after a six-week confinement period we regret the absence of any form of dialogue with the ministry. We’re experts in the field of education, and an exchange could have led to more options and alternatives. But there is no willingness to compromise, and that is simply incomprehensible.”
The syndicates hope more questions will be answered about the re-entry of other students in secondary education.
Read the full letter below (in German)
