A class will be able to switch to distance learning if 60% of the students are absent after being placed in isolation, indicates a ministerial decree adopted on Saturday by the government.
This measure has been added to the document that summarizes the instructions of the Ministry of Education to the school network.
“As the Department of Public Health no longer conducts epidemiological studies, it will no longer order class or school closures. However, a school service centre, a school board or a private educational institution may switch a class to distance learning if at least 60% of the students in this class are required to follow the isolation instructions established by a Public health due to COVID-19, starting on the second day of the school calendar following the achievement of this percentage,” the directive states.
“In such a case, a written notice must be sent to the parents at least 24 hours in advance to inform them of the changeover to distance education. Similarly, in the event of a shortage of staff, when the organization has carried out all the measures of its contingency plan and can no longer ensure the presence of a school worker in a class, it may switch it to distance learning, ” specifies the document.
Sylvain Mallette, president of the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE), believes that this decision to close a class if 60% of the students are in isolation testifies to the “loss of control” of the government. “Once the government has lost control of the Omicron variant, they have to try to make what is not manageable,” he says.
This ministerial decree allows in particular to change the teacher-student ratios as well as the work of the teachers, after consultation with the unions. Sylvain Mallette finds this “contradictory” with the government message which states that the health situation is improving.
Further details will follow.
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