Last Friday, the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, was forced to issue a reactive press release: “Opening windows in cold weather: the Ministry of Education reminds that the comfort and safety of students and school staff must come first. This development responded to a double phenomenon: on social networks, a series of photos of readers of CO2 exceeding the acceptable standard in the classrooms; and the phenomenon of open windows to control the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Children, what do you prefer today? The frost at the end of the nose or a little stale air?
With the approach of very cold weather, which will continue this week, the ministry wanted to calm things down. It suggests that “comfort and safety” outweigh discomfort – chilled children – and insecurity – children exposed to medium concentrations of over 1500 ppm (parts per million), which has become the new standard. The problem being that, in many classrooms in Quebec, without the salvation of open windows, the safety standard in terms of carbon dioxide levels cannot be guaranteed. Comfort AND safety cannot therefore go hand in hand. The Ordre des chimistes du Québec was indignant on Monday at this dubious combination, specifying that it was not a question of the comfort of the children, but indeed of their health, saying that it was also concerned by “the process of calibration and above all interpretation of the results of the CO sensors2 installed in schools.
When Quebec announced the reopening of classes after a confined holiday break, we applauded this salutary decision for the good of children, including academic success and mental health. A few conditions for success were however highlighted, including the availability of rapid tests, apparently well controlled, and the quality of the air in the classroom. In this last case, the fiasco continues, and the mistrust of parents and teachers is growing. Quebec plays the braggart with figures that do not reassure anyone: we may have distributed tens of thousands of readers of CO2 in the network, which we do not doubt, what comfort will this provide to the occupants of premises whose only recourse, or thereabouts, lies in opening the windows? Any.
Where are the air exchangers promised to reduce the problem? The ministry claims to have received only some 430 requests, and says it can supply the device at will according to orders. In April 2021, when unveiling a report estimating at just over 10% the percentage of classes in Quebec exceeding the “worrying” concentration of 1500 ppm of CO2, Quebec said it had ordered 438 air exchangers.
Of course, the transmission of COVID-19 is not only based on the level of ventilation of an interior space, but on a set of other health measures implemented in schools: wearing a mask, respecting some distance for longer contacts. There is also no indication at this time that the pre-holiday disaster scenario – the waltz of classes and schools closed for outbreaks – will happen again. However, we can understand the children, parents and school staff being exasperated by the absence of concrete and rapid action in a field where, however, the red flags have been raised for a long time.
Education once again confirms its apparent difficulties in acting promptly and effectively, as the opposition has been trying to demonstrate for months. In an article published this weekend, The Press calculated that only $20 million was invested by school service centers for the maintenance of ventilation systems, while Quebec did have an envelope of $432 million paid by Ottawa to ensure a safe return to class in the fall… 2020. The lack of means cannot serve as an escape.
Added to the delays and inaction is the confusion surrounding the data disseminated. While the “acceptable” standards are now 1500 ppm, there was a time when it was 1200 ppm. In a chapter released in 2012 on air quality in elementary schools, the Auditor General (AG) of Quebec noted the harmful effects of poor ambient air quality on children — it was obviously not talking about a coronavirus at the time, but the list is nevertheless very long: headache, fatigue and drowsiness, sinus congestion, lack of concentration, worsening of respiratory problems such as asthma. In short: an unfavorable context for both student learning and teacher performance.
The VG, who concluded that there was a faulty maintenance and monitoring system, reminded the ministry of its duties: “Define guidelines, decide on air quality standards, but also ensure adequate monitoring. Ten years later, it couldn’t be said better.