On very cold days, Quebec asks teachers to prioritize comfort over air quality in their premises to prevent students from freezing in class.
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All windows must be closed if the temperature drops below 20 degrees Celsius, said the Ministry of Education in “an update” sent to the school network at the end of the day.
The newspaper reported Friday that to maintain acceptable air quality, teachers have to open the windows so wide that children wear their coats all day in class, a situation denounced by several parents.
Installing C0 drives2 in Quebec schools, which began in recent weeks, now allows teachers to have continuous measurements of the air quality in their premises.
The Ministry of Education corrected the situation on Friday by indicating that “the comfort and safety of students and school staff must come first”.
“Partially opening windows should only be done for short periods to maintain a comfortable temperature in classrooms,” a statement read.
On very cold days, if the levels of C02 exceed the acceptable threshold of 1500 ppm, “the safety of the occupants is still not compromised”, assures Quebec, since ventilation is only one measure among many others aimed at limiting the spread of the virus to the ‘school.
“The idea is to ventilate the best we can, but we must not put the children in uncomfortable situations. It’s not acceptable. Perhaps the message was not conveyed well,” said Ali Bahloul, the independent expert who advises Quebec on air quality, during an interview with The newspaper.
- Listen to Mario Dumont’s interview with expert Ali Bahloul on QUB Radio:
Demonstrate “discernment”
The Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge, for his part asked teachers to show “discernment”.
“When the situation is extreme like today, you still have to make sure that the students have an acceptable level of comfort in class,” he said on LCN on Friday morning.
The school network is “adapting” to the presence of C0 readers2, which have started to show up in classrooms, he added.
At the Fédération des centers de services scolaire, it is specified that the protocol for the use of C0 readers2 recommends “as much as possible” opening the windows in the absence of the pupils.
Confusion among teachers
For their part, the teachers’ unions believe that the confusion is greater than ever. “How can we be told to open the windows if the rate of C02 is too high, but to close them if the temperature is too low? Who are we listening to, the thermometer or the detector? The teachers will be even more mixed, ”says Sylvain Mallette, president of the Autonomous Federation of Education.
“When it’s cold, the virus still continues to spread. So even when it’s cold, the staff do what they’re told to do. We are back to square one again, ”adds Éric Gingras, president of the Centrale des unions du Québec (CSQ)
At the Ministry of Education, it is specified that air exchangers are made available to schools if “persistent deficiencies” are observed in terms of air quality.