When will schools reopen?

National Council of Pupils in Romania warns that online learning is tiring, inefficient and unsustainable in the long run.

Roxana Vasile, 05.01.2021, 13:50

Romanian children have been
doing remote learning since March last year, with the exception of fewer than
two months in autumn. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, classes are now held
exclusively online all over the country. The winter break is coming to an end,
but children will still not be returning to their classrooms as remote learning
will continue. Because of the epidemiological situation, their winter holiday
was also spent mostly at home, with social interaction being discouraged:

I keep myself busy without
going anywhere in particular. I draw, I read, I sometimes play on the computer,
I do my homework and spend time with my family.

Psychologist Fabian Radu advises
parents to spend as much time as possible with their children and engage them
in recreational activities:

What’s important is for
parents not to let children with their eyes glued to the screens of their
phones or tablets all the time and instead encourage them to take part in other
forms of recreational activities.

The National Council of Pupils
warns that in their opinion online learning is tiring, inefficient and completely
unsustainable in the long run. Many children, especially from underprivileged
backgrounds, don’t have access to education because they don’t have computers
or tablets or internet connection. A plan is needed to ensure that these children
are brought up to speed with all the teaching they missed so they don’t fall
behind even further.

The National Council of
Pupils believes the decision to go back to in-person teaching depending on local
infection rates should be decentralised, as was the case in autumn, given that in
many places around the country the infection rate is now below the threshold of
3 cases per 1,000 inhabitants. Also, with national exams coming up, pupils
would like decision makers to prepare different scenarios to ensure that exams
are held.

Education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu says he is considering a return to
in-person learning in the second semester, which begins on 8th
February, but only depending on the epidemiological situation at the time. He says
an assessment will made most likely in the second half of the month during which
no scenario will be overlooked. (CM)