Thursday, March 28

The situation is ‘catastrophic’, say French teachers, during national strike over COVID measures


France’s education unions staged a nationwide strike on Thursday, and teachers described a “catastrophic” situation in schools as tens of thousands of students are sick with COVID-19.

“We already changed the protocol three times since the beginning of the school year, so we give different information to parents every week, every day,” said Léna Peregrin, a 25-year-old teaching assistant who has been in charge of the management of COVID-19. protocol at his school in Lyon.

“We have 52 COVID cases today, we had 30 at the beginning of the week. It is increasing every day and nothing is changing ”, he added.

“We are asking (the government) for the means so that we are safe, such as masks. The mask that I wear today is the mask that I have bought for a year because the ministry does not provide us with surgical masks or FFP2. More expensive”.

One of France’s largest education unions, the SNUIPP-FSU, said that around 75% of school personnel went on strike, leading to the closure of around half of the schools. The union called it a “historic mobilization”, adding that it was not a strike against the virus but a reflection of growing anger in schools.

The French Ministry of Education estimated the number of strikers at a total of 27% of school personnel nationwide, with around 40% of primary school personnel on strike.

“The strike is historic. There have never been so many strikers in schools in a long time,” said Benjamin Grandener, school principal and co-secretary of the Rhône chapter of the largest teachers union.

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“It’s an absolute disaster in the schools and even if they are open on paper, we really can’t really teach the students and the classes that are present.”

Strikers in Lyon on Thursday occupied the space of three streets, with many teachers saying they were present angry about the situation and that they were exhausted.

Workers marched through the streets chanting they wanted masks in schools, while onlookers eating in restaurants and on the street stood up to applaud them. Many teachers carried signs to say they were in trouble.

“It really weighs on you. I know when I get home I’m really not well,” said Fidji, a 25-year-old education assistant who started working at a high school last year.

“We are at the end of the line, we are on the edge, it creates tension. Yesterday someone intentionally set a fire at the high school. So, in addition to working to put out the pandemic fire, there was a real fire. “

Two secondary school teachers from the Isère region said they were protesting the “catastrophic” situation in schools.

“The students are falling like flies in the classes, we only have two school monitors, two out of five working. The school is completely overwhelmed, ”said one of them.

A new high school exam is planned for March and teachers say they lack information about the criteria, adding to their stress and that of the students.

“High school students are already very stressed by high school and with the reform they have to take specialty exams in March. The tests are coming really fast and with all the classes being missed or students not having access to everything that is virtual. They are not getting quality classes, “said Mégane Montavert, a 30-year-old high school teacher in Lyon.

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Parents and teachers learned last week that students in classes where someone has a COVID-19 case would need to be tested three times a week to keep the class open.

There are currently more than 300,000 new COVID-19 infections a day in France, the highest number of daily cases since the start of the pandemic.

It is due to the highly communicable Omicron variant and has caused thousands of school classes to be temporarily closed due to COVID.

Vaccination was recently opened to young children, with less than 1% of those under the age of 11 fully vaccinated.

Education unions require that school personnel and students be equipped with surgical masks and respirators, as well as self-assessments. They also urge the Government to delay high school to June due to the health crisis.

The government said Tuesday that more than 10,000 school classes were closed, representing about 2% of primary classes, but that its goal was to keep schools open.

Before the education strike, Prime Minister Jean Castex said the rules would be simplified, stating that free self-tests would be available at pharmacies and that three self-tests would be enough for contacts of people who tested positive for COVID-19 in schools. .

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said on cable television: “It is not like we are in a normal period, we are in a severe crisis.” He said that people should not strike against a virus.

The COVID-19 epidemic comes as France prepares for the April presidential elections with multiple candidates from the left and right supporting teachers who are on strike against the government.

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Managing COVID-19 infections in schools has been a challenge during the pandemic, with the World Health Organization’s European regional director declaring this week that schools should be the last to close.

“Keeping schools open has important benefits for children’s mental, social and educational well-being. Schools should be the last places to close and the first to reopen,” said Hans Kluge.


www.euronews.com

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