UPE teachers’ union calls for staggered return to schools following festive holidays

The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) has called out the education ministry’s “complete and utter” silence, ahead of schools reopening this week.

Calling for a staggered return to schools, the union said it has received various complaints from its members over the reopening.

“The concerns these members have brought up revolved around the reckless disregard, by a significant part of the population, with regards to compliance to the guidelines issued by our health authorities,” the union said.

The UPE said that despite warnings by health authorities and repeated appeals on the media, people still went to Gozo in droves and flocked to Vallletta and crowded places like St George Square, all the while not respecting social distancing or wearing a mask.

“What our members fear the most is that reopening schools now might actually coincide with the beginning of the first exhibited symptoms following this period of revelry, symptoms which may initially be disregarded and which within a school environment, may as a result, be the cause of the formation of multiple clusters at school,” the UPE said.

The ministry’s silence is “disconcerting” the union said, calling on students whose entry would be delayed, to attend online lessons.

“In this way one might curb the possible impact of a potential sudden spike in cases resulting from the irresponsibility of some, and protect those who have abided by the recommendations, and have gone to great lengths to do their part controlling the spread of the virus,” it said.

Asked whether schools should go online for a short while after the Christmas holidays, given the expected increase in cases, Public Health Superintendent Charmaine Gauci said this was not necessary.

She said there were very few school transmissions over the past months, even when new cases increased, because of the very good mitigation measures adopted by schools.

However, she appealed to parents of school children to take care of unnecessary exposure to risk during the holidays.