The government in Bucharest has earmarked 175
million Euros out of EU funds for preparing the new school year due to commence
on September 14th. The money is to be used by the local authorities
for the purchase of tablets, masks and sanitary cabins.
More than half of the money, 100 million Euros
will be used on computer tablets and other electronic devices aimed at assisting
the online education of roughly 500 thousand students, Ionel Danca, head of the
Prime Minister’s chancellery has said. The government will invest 50 million
euros in the purchase of masks and disinfectants for schools and 25 million
others in mobile sanitary cabins.
The experience of last semester, when the risk
of transmitting the novel coronavirus in schools made the authorities to
suspend classes has prompted the government to also take into consideration a
worst-case scenario, with three positive persons per one thousand inhabitants
in a locality in the past 14 days. A situation like this would prompt the
authorities to close down the school in that locality and hold online courses.
In early August, when the number of daily
infections didn’t go under 1,000, the aforementioned situation was reported
only in 50 localities. Several hundred other localities became part of the
medium-risk category with between one and three people infected per thousand and
in this case, preschoolers, pupils in their first school years and students in
their last who need to take exams, will become a special priority. The others
will get online courses and are going to school in rotation. These scenarios
are to be updated constantly in keeping with the local epidemiological
situation.
Upon proposals from schools and the School Inspectorate, the
Committee for Emergency Situations is going to decide whether students will
stay at home or go to school. Here is Romania’s Health Minister Nelu Tataru
with more on this.
Nelu Tataru: We’ve
allowed the freedom, so to say, to local authorities, county school
inspectorates and public health directions to adjust the scenarios and the
regulations we imposed to every school. In the localities where children can
safely go to school, we believe it’s OK for them to go, with the observation of
certain prevention measures of course, but where there is the risk of
infection, the other two scenarios are to be applied. School has to begin
because we have children who must go to school. We’ve already had half a year
when children had to stay at home and I believe they need to socialize. The
teacher-student relation is also something very important.
In a most-positive scenario, with less than one person infected
per thousand in the past 14 days, the students’ presence in schools will be
mandatory not optional, as Education Minister Monica Anisie explains.
(translated by bill)
