As a father, former teacher and Minister of Education, I am very happy that we can proceed, as of Monday morning, to a return to school in person in all schools in Quebec. For many, this news is a relief. For others, questions remain, and this is completely normal. However, I can assure you that with the experts from public health and school service centers, we have neglected no detail to offer a safe return to school for our students and staff.
As you know, we are convinced that education is an essential need for our children. Education is a priority for our government. Postponing the start of the school year in attendance at the start of the year was a heartbreaking decision. Under these conditions, learning, socialization and food aid are less present, while the negative effects on the mental health of our young people are more present. So we all agree that distance learning is an alternative that cannot last.
As is the case in society in general, despite the various measures put in place, it would be illusory to believe that there will be no cases among students or staff in the context of a face-to-face start of the school year. Recognizing this evidence does not mean that we have to give up in front of the virus, on the contrary. Here are the various measures we have put in place to offer our students a safe return to class, which will allow them to continue their academic progress, while being able to meet, in real life, their friends.
We will distribute 7.2 million self-tests in elementary schools in Quebec. More response masks are made available to staff and students. School service centers and school boards maintain high vigilance with regard to air quality in classrooms and carry out the necessary work. CO Readers2 that we are installing, a first in Canada, are tools that are added to a set of measures and they allow us to intervene quickly, if necessary.
We are very proud to be one of the places in the world where students have lost the fewest school days since the start of the pandemic and we are now putting in place the necessary means to continue on this path. In the medium and long term, Quebec will stand out, and we will have collectively succeeded in giving ourselves all the tools necessary to better protect the mental health and educational success of our students.
I would like to thank the school staff who are helping public health authorities in this fight against COVID-19 and who are once again showing resilience and professionalism. The entire network is hard at work to ensure that this return to school takes place in the best possible conditions. We all know that students belong in school. However, we must recognize that the challenges of this new school year are great and expect that all will not be perfect over the next few weeks. I therefore invite parents to be indulgent and understanding, given these exceptional circumstances.
I can very well understand that fears remain among some. However, we are convinced that, thanks to science and the involvement of those who work in our schools and all the specialists who collaborate with us, we have put in place all the necessary measures to offer our young safe places where they can learn, socialize and grow.
Have a good comeback!