The new scholastic year is set to open in the coming days when thousands of children are to return to the classrooms they abandoned in March at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Questions on why this should be happening have been raised by parents, educators and society in general, and there are of course many doubts on how the system will work, whether all precautions have been taken, and what is going to happen should there be one or more cases in one or more schools.

We must remember that schools in Malta were closed at a time when the number of cases was still on the rise, and had not reached the proportions we had today. Six months ago, many countries had also resorted to closing down schools as a way to limit the spread of the virus. Even they have reopened or are reopening in spite of Europe experiencing a second, bigger wave.

What are the arguments being made by those who want schools to remain shut

1.     Schools were closed in March at a time when the number of cases was still low. Malta used to register a few cases every day. Things have been different in the past two months or so. There has been a strong surge and the number of active cases is now hovering between 600 and 700, many more than we had in March and April, when schools were closed. So why are we taking the risk now?

2.     No matter how many protocols and guidelines are drawn up, it is difficult to keep children in check. The so-called bubble concept may work in theory, but it is hard to keep control over children, especially the ones who are still too young to understand the consequences. One remembers that when schools were closed in March, children continued to mingle in playgrounds and parks in spite of the warnings. It is difficult to believe that this will not be the case again.

3.     It is one thing having rules, and it’s another implementing them. For example, how can we be sure that the 1.5 metre distance between desks is going to be kept at all times? Another thing, children in primary school need only to wear masks in communal areas. This is being done because it is known that it is harder for these younger pupils to keep their mask on at all times than their secondary school counterparts. But the virus does not discriminate between primary and secondary school students.

4.     The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic led to online teaching, which was a way for schools to keep in contact with their students. The rushed introduction of such a system had its teething problems, but they were by and large overcome and the experience gained between March and June should have served to eliminate other hitches. It is not ideal for students to take lessons online, but given the situation as it is developing and the rise in  numbers, it should temporarily replace in-school teaching until a vaccine is developed and matters are brought under control.

5.     Forcing children to wear masks, keep away from each other, obsessively disinfect their hands and have their temperature checked regularly will have a negative impact on the quality of their learning. These inconveniences will also result in a reduced amount of time available for lessons, apart from adding to the anxiety students feel especially when exams are approaching. Having children facing the wall for long periods so as to enable the concept of social distancing to work is not conducive to learning, as one union has put it.

5 reasons why they should open