The consultations between the education ministers, Corona Commissioner Pedro Facon and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) did not directly interfere with the schools. There is no question of a closure of the schools and an extension of the Easter holidays. Ministers and experts want to keep the schools open for as long as possible.
‘The elephant in the room, the closure of the schools, is not on the table. The extension of the Easter holidays is also not on the table. As far as we are concerned, it is very clear: the light stays on the longest in the schools’, said Flemish Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA) after the consultation in the Wetstraat 16. Full-time contact education for secondary education is already being postponed for sure. until after the Easter holidays. The target date will remain there on Monday, April 19.
What was then discussed during the consultation? ‘We mainly talked about improving testing and tracing in schools’, says Walloon education minister Caroline Désir (PS). The mouth mask obligation for the fifth and sixth grade, a measure that was already announced for Flanders on Wednesday evening by Minister Weyts and will take effect on Monday 22 March, may be applied for the entire country. Although there are still doubts on the Walloon side.
‘The mouth mask obligation is part of the proposed approaches of the experts, but there is a lot of discussion about this and sometimes the inconveniences are greater than the advantages. We must also discuss this with the actors in the field. Although this does not seem obvious to us for children of 10 years old, ‘says Désir.
‘The elephant in the room, the closure of the schools, is not on the table. The extension of the Easter holidays is also not on the table. As far as we are concerned, it is very clear: the light stays on the longest in the schools’, said Flemish Minister of Education Ben Weyts (N-VA) after the consultation in the Wetstraat 16. Full-time contact education for secondary education is already being postponed for sure. until after the Easter holidays. The target date will remain there on Monday, April 19. What was then discussed during the consultation? ‘We mainly talked about improving testing and tracing in schools’, says Walloon education minister Caroline Désir (PS). The mouth mask obligation for the fifth and sixth grade, a measure that was already announced for Flanders on Wednesday evening by Minister Weyts and will take effect on Monday 22 March, may be applied for the entire country. Although there are still doubts on the Walloon side. ‘The mouth mask obligation is part of the proposed approaches of the experts, but there is a lot of discussion about this and sometimes the inconveniences are greater than the advantages. We must also discuss this with the actors in the field. Although this does not seem obvious to us for children of 10 years old, ‘says Désir.
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