Unions representing teachers and professionals in the education sector are expressing concern about the conditions in which the government plans to reopen the schools.
In a statement released Thursday evening after Premier Francois Legault’s press conference, the The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and its affiliate federations pointed out that while a return to classes is of great importance for the success and well-being of students, the CSQ thinks that the conditions in which the return will take place, next Monday, are far from optimal.
“Once again, the government’s lack of communication and last-minute strategy is creating shock waves in the network,” commented CSQ President Éric Gingras in a press release. “As it prepares a full-on paradigm shift for the management of the pandemic, and given the conditions in which the return to classes will take place, it should have used a more competent educational approach for both staff and for the public at large. Because the way we will be managing cases will be different from now on. Today, we have understood that these changes will be made on the backs of education staff,” Gingras said.
The unions believe Thursday’s announcements are riddled with shortcomings and numerous unknowns. For days, the government has repeated that the coming weekend will be the most important in terms of cases and that the effects on the healthcare network will be significant. But in the same breath, it is reopening schools with a new case and contact management protocol that anticipates reducing the isolation period.
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