The countries of the region are preparing for the new school year while fighting the coronavirus epidemic. While some governments are ready to start teaching, others have not yet decided which model to apply and are waiting for instructions from epidemiologists, "Balkan Insight" writes.
Various approaches include shortened classes, reduced class sizes, alternating periods of online and face-to-face instruction, and a combination of the two methods.
The Minister of Education of Serbia, Mladen Šarčević, states that it is planned that classes in primary schools will go live if the epidemiological situation allows it. The guidelines are quite elaborate.
Lower grades of elementary schools will attend classes in the morning shift, while students of higher grades will go to school in the afternoon. Along with classes at school, it is planned to start distance learning for primary school students, as parents will be given the option to choose whether to send their children to school or leave them at home and follow TV lessons. However, it is recommended that the lower grades of elementary school start school from September 1, especially the first grade due to socialization and adaptation to the school environment, reports RTS.
The minister states that classes will last 30 minutes, five-minute breaks are planned between classes, and a 15-minute break after the second class. After each block of classes, classrooms must be disinfected according to the recommendations prepared by epidemiologists. All classes with more than 15 students will be divided into two parts, and wearing masks will be mandatory.
The school year in Croatia starts on September 7. Assistant Minister of Education Momir Karin said that his department strives to ensure that students are in their classrooms and that classes are fully conducted in schools.
Karin said there are three scenarios. Apart from teaching entirely in schools, the second scenario is mixed teaching, and the third, least desirable, online teaching.
"There will no longer be a complete blockade of the entire system like before, but if a hotspot appears, we will give clear instructions for them, so it will not be general for the whole of Croatia," said Karin.
He emphasized that it will be difficult to comply with the measures, but also expressed confidence that the children are conscientious enough and will respect the guidelines. Classes will be organized so that there is as little movement as possible, that there is a time gap between shifts so that the rooms can be disinfected.
As for the obligation to wear masks, they used the example of Germany, but they are still waiting for guidelines from epidemiologists.
"We have seen that in Germany also no inside the classrooms, but yes in the corridors. That will all be determined by experts, epidemiologists, and schools will certainly receive clear instructions and information on time," said Karin.
The authorities in the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that they will come up with a lesson plan after consultations with epidemiologists, educators, trade unions and parents. The three most frequently mentioned options are fully opening schools, combining online and face-to-face teaching, and exclusively online teaching.
In Kosovo, they are also considering three scenarios - partially opening schools in September, not opening schools at all or closing schools, then opening at another time during the school year, said Minister of Education Rama Lahaj.
North Macedonia has not yet made a decision on whether to open schools and kindergartens in September, but Health Minister Venko Filipče indicated that it is "highly likely" that schools and kindergartens will first have to adapt to the protocols, and that a final decision will be made after that. decision.
Albania plans to open schools in September, but that decision was made in June when the number of infected people had dropped significantly. In the meantime, the statistics have significantly worsened, so it is possible that the decision to open schools will be revised.
Parents demand the right to choose
While on the one hand the Croatian authorities are facing pressure from parents and the economy to open schools and kindergartens in order to allow parents to work, conflicting views are also heard.
The Croatian initiative "Safety first - the possibility of choosing online classes for 2020/2021", which has collected as many as 2.000 followers on social networks in a week, considers the decision to start school in the fall to be hasty. They are asking the ministry for the option of two parallel teaching models - conventional teaching at school and online teaching from home, and for parents to choose which model to choose for their child.
"We are not frightened or irrational parents. We look at what is happening around us and we believe that safety must come first. What is happening now, we fear, is rushing and forcing the opening of schools even though there is a possibility that schools will become new hotspots for the coronavirus. Arguments such as 'cafés are working, so why shouldn't schools' are utter nonsense," said Ana Basic, mother of a high school student from Zagreb and one of the initiators of the initiative, to "Jutarnje list".
"The school comes first, and advocating for an online school, where children would be safer, is not against the school, quite the opposite. We know that there is a possibility that hotspots will appear in schools, and what will happen then? The child will have to self-isolate, and the parents with them. How will that affect the economy?," asks Basic.
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