France pushed forward with the reopening of schools on Tuesday, sending more than 12 million students back for mandatory in-person classes, even after the country reported a sharp rise in new novel coronavirus cases, reports The Washington Post.
Government officials have warned about a possible need for a second national lockdown, and some schools in highly affected regions will remain closed. But the government wants most students in their classrooms, to facilitate the return of parents to work and to curb a learning gap between high- and low-income students that authorities believe worsened during the two-month lockdown in the spring.
“Not everything should be destroyed by the health situation,” education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told France’s Journal du Dimanche newspaper. “We must be vigilant, but not forget the educational and social imperatives, nor deviate from our two objectives: improving the educational level of each child and reducing inequalities.”
Despite the recent increase in cases, 79 percent of French parents were in favor of sending their children back to school September 1st, according to a recent survey by France’s Ifop polling agency.
Some teachers and health professionals, though, have criticized the government’s plans. While there has been little evidence of school-based transmission in Europe or around the world, school outbreaks in Israel and Chile have caused concerns about schools accelerating community spread.
“We’ve always known that was a likely outcome, but we don’t think the education ministry is very well prepared,” said Sophie Vénétitay, the general secretary of one of France’s largest teaching unions.
Writing in Le Parisien on Saturday, a group of medical professionals argued for requiring masks on all students aged 6 and older — instead of the government’s guideline that applies to only those 11 and older. The doctors also advocated for more robust air-ventilation measures and efforts to reduce contact between children in different classes.