Minister Meisch explained that every pupil has a right for education and that therefore the CovidCheck mechanism will not be expanded to include schools. He noted that same as citizens cannot be refused entry to public administrations, children cannot be kept out of the class room.
However, Minister Meisch also conveyed that discussions with teachers unions are being held at the moment, which revolve around a potential introduction of the CovidCheck system for employees working in schools and educational administrations: “I think there may very well be areas where we introduce the mechanism, but I’m fully convinced that the class room will not be one of them.”
Back in August, teachers union Féduse argued in favour of introducing the CovidCheck system in schools, which is why Minister Meisch now finds it surprising that parent union CGFP, as well as OGBL and LCGB, are against the expansion of the system in the workplace. The unions believe that the government should rather have organised a better vaccination campaign than finding a way of sneaking in mandates later.
Nevertheless, Minister Meisch is determined to maintain an open dialogue: “Not everything is black and white. The vaccination campaign initially worked well, but now it is time to accommodate those who did everything right and took the jab. In the past, we were often criticised for not acting quick enough. Now, it seems like we are too hasty.”
During the interview, the politician was also asked about Prime Minister Bettel’s announcement that daycares are to become free of charge on school days, starting next school year. Minister Meisch does not share the concerns of municipal administrations, which fear that rendering daycares free will drive up demand beyond capacity limits.
The same fear also came up when 20 free hours of child care in nurseries were introduced, Meisch noted, and no excessive demand actually occurred: “In my experience, people do not base the decision of signing up their children for daycares only on money.”
