The Union of Professional Educators (UPE) has spoken of “a state of panic” within state schools due to the lack of preparation for the new scholastic year.

Teachers entered state schools for the first time in the scholastic year on Monday in preparation to receive students, which will happen next week after being pushed back over the weekend.

Some private schools opened their doors to welcome students on Monday, but students who attend state schools and church schools will have to wait another week before going back to the classroom.

The UPE said that it has been receiving reports from its members that the first day of school has been “characterised by panic due to the state of unpreparedness in which state schools are found.”

“Reports have comprised complaints of alleged dirty classrooms and chaotic setups. Staffrooms are crammed with desks going completely against the social distancing protocols. In one particular case, a room, that is supposed to host a maximum of 6 adults with social distancing in mind, has been reported to be hosting 30 educators”, the UPE said.

They said that teachers have been given new time tables again, thus rendering all the planning they have done to date redundant.

“Furthermore, several reports were received from LSEs claiming that while seating arrangements were made to cater for students and the teachers, no such arrangement was contemplated for LSEs”, the union said.

They noted that internet connections have also been reported as being extremely unstable and added that educators have not been in a position to connect to platforms to continue with their work. 

“All of this was reported within just the first few hours of school”, they said.

The UPE said that it is keeping a watchful eye on the current situation and is calling on the Minister to get things sorted out as soon as possible so as to ensure a safe and adequate working environment for our members.

The union said that it is calling upon its members to report any unsafe conditions going against the established protocol and to support such reports with photographic evidence so that these issues can be flagged with the Education Ministry.