Schwerin (dpa / mv) – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Ministry of Education considers demands for longer Christmas holidays after the New Year to be premature. “The MV summit in mid-December will of course also deal with school lessons after the Christmas break and observe the infection process very closely,” said a spokesman for the German press agency on Tuesday. To jump to conclusions would not help anyone.
Meanwhile, calls for school to start later in the new year are growing louder. According to the Association of Education and Upbringing (VBE), the Education and Science Union (GEW) proposed on Tuesday that schools should be opened later after New Year’s Eve to protect teachers. “The holidays should be extended by three days so that we are five days apart from the New Year,” said GEW State Chairman Maik Walm. The day before, the VBE had discussed an extension of up to a week. According to current planning, the Christmas holidays will end on January 2nd; school then starts after the weekend on January 4th.
The Ministry of Education emphasized that all scientific studies so far have shown that schools are not responsible for the spread of the virus and that they do not cause an increase in the general number of infections. The incidence figures in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are currently well below those in other federal states. “This also applies to the schools in the country,” said the spokesman.
According to the GEW, the country should “urgently” recommend parents of daycare and after-school care children to keep the children at home for three more days if possible after the turn of the year. This should also be clearly addressed to the companies, demanded the co-state chairwoman Annett Lindner. In schools and day-care centers, the teachers and educators constantly encounter numerous households and thus have an increased health risk. The GEW also demanded – like the VBE the day before – FFP-2 masks for the staff.
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