Teachers in England are demanding that students be “sprayed front and back with disinfectant” at the entrance of the school after PM Boris Johnson announced schools could open again in the next three weeks.
The prime minister said they could start opening schools in phases from June 1.
Announcing the plan to ease the lockdown, PM Johnson said: “We believe we may be in a position to begin the phased reopening of shops and to get primary pupils back into schools, in stages, beginning with reception, Year One and Year Six.”
The secondary schools, however, wouldn’t be opened until September. The students who have their exams will likely go to school for some time before the summers.
The decision was criticized by the school staff unions and was hailed ‘reckless’ by the leader of the largest teaching union in the country.
Just a day after PM Johnson’s announcement, more than 380k parents signed a petition, urging the government not to open schools.
Joint general secretary of the NEU, Dr. Mary Bousted said: “We think that the announcement by the Government that schools may reopen from June 1 with reception and Years One and Six is nothing short of reckless.
“Coronavirus continues to ravage communities in the UK and the rate of Covid-19 infection is still far too great for the wider opening of our schools.
“In China, children stand outside the school gates and are sprayed front and back with disinfectant, their shoes are sprayed, they wash their hands with sanitizer, they must take off their mask and replace it with a new one, and their temperature is taken remotely.”
When asked if the students should be sprayed with disinfectant, Dr. Mary said: “Yes. They’re doing that in China and South Korea and they have a minuscule number of new cases.”
The National Association of Head Teachers said: “There is not a school leader in the land who wants to risk admitting more pupils unless it is perfectly clear that it is safe.”
A senior school head added: “If teachers refuse to come in and are not in a vulnerable group then they will have to take unpaid leave, in my view.
“We’ve got to have staff in to run classes. You can accommodate home working for some jobs, such as admin, but apart from a few roles you have to have teachers there.”
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