The national students' conference (CNEL) has raised a number of questions that still plague Luxembourg's pupils. How can health hazards efficiently be avoided in a school setting?
Luxembourg's schools are set to reopen gradually and a number of new precautionary measures will apply. Classes will for instance be divided into smaller groups that take weekly turns. CNEL nevertheless voiced concerns about how hygiene rules can be enforced in the classroom. According to CNEL president Kimon Leners, it may be difficult to translate the theoretical guidelines into practice. Face masks will for instance not be mandatory in the classroom and schools could risk becoming new infection hotbeds. Leners cited the example of schools in Limpertsberg: masses of pupils will still food the city, even if the total number of pupils physically present is halved.
CNEL also drew attention to the workload of teachers. Half class groups are synonymous with a double workload for teaching staff. Teachers will have to be physically present at school to teach one half of the class while remotely supervising the other half. "Teachers are already working overtime," Leners explained. In his words: "If they now also have to work double the amount then we don't know how they are supposed to manage. It its in our eyes impossible that they can still deliver good lessons."
CNEL will aim to collect questions from pupils in order to determine the most pressing issues. They concluded that they would still listen to and trust the experts - but highlighted that the ministry of education still has time to polish its plans.
Classes will be divided into smaller groups both in primary and secondary schools
