It is also the confusion among many of our neighbors. In Italy for example, in recent days, orders have followed counter orders. Some regions, notably Sicily and Campania, around Naples, have adopted stricter-than-average measures. The governor of Campania even wanted to impose a school closure until the end of the month. The administrative court overturned this decision, and the central government in Rome sharply criticized the attitude of the Italian region. In addition, the national system is difficult to read: tests every five days at primary school in the event of a positive pupil, closure in kindergarten, FFP2 mask in middle school but closure if we reach the three cases in a class … Nothing. is not very clear.
The rules on wearing a mask in Switzerland, Belgium or the Netherlands are not very readable either. In Belgium, for example, it is now necessary to wear it indoors from the age of 6, but there are exemptions. In the Netherlands, teachers must wear the mask outside of classrooms, but not inside. In Switzerland, the rules vary from one canton to another. So it’s the cacophony everywhere: a cat would not find her young there.
There are also class closings elsewhere, notably in England. In Ireland, it has even become a puzzle in recent days. In some schools, nearly 40% of students and nearly 50% of teachers are missing. There is no longer any replacement available. And the Irish press also mentions the closures of classes linked to the temperature in the classrooms: some recorded a level of 6 ° C, because of the room ventilation instructions to respect the sanitary protocol.
In England, badly affected by the Omicron wave, retired teachers were called to the rescue and classes were merged. The percentage of absent staff is estimated at 10% according to the main teachers’ union, and 37% of schools cannot find replacements. The only good news coming from our British neighbors is that the number of cases seems to be leveling off and starting to come down, especially in London. But in summary, everyone tinkers.
The peculiarity of France for two years, it is to seek at all costs to keep its schools open. Many countries have closed their schools completely for very long months, such as Italy or the United States. Even more extreme case: in Uganda, in East Africa, schools reopened this Monday, January 10 after almost two years of non-stop closure! More occasionally, governments have often decided to extend the holidays: an additional week in Portugal, Belgium or the Netherlands, where the start of the school year also only took place on January 10.
Among the comparable countries, France is indeed the one which, for over two years, has been most successful in keeping its schools open, along with the Nordic countries: Norway, Sweden, Finland. But we can see it clearly, this political will not to widen social inequalities by closing classes becomes difficult to apply when cases multiply among children and adolescents, as is the case today everywhere in Europe.