The surprisingly decided suspension of compulsory attendance for pupils at Berlin schools is, from the point of view of the Reinickendorf medical officer Patrick Larscheid, “horrible stupidity”.
“We were not involved in any way, it was a lonely decision by the senator,” Larscheid told the German Press Agency on Monday evening.
The resistance and anger in the hygiene advisory board, in which politicians consult with districts, public health officers and pediatricians and science about how to proceed in the corona pandemic, is “maximum”. “There is a general fear that this decision will result in the social divide between the children being exacerbated,” said Larscheid.
No compulsory attendance until the end of February
In view of the increasing number of corona infections due to the Omicron variant, Education Senator Astrid-Sabine Busse (SPD) announced on Monday that she would temporarily suspend compulsory attendance at Berlin schools.
However, face-to-face teaching remains the “regular form”, it was added in a statement from the education administration.
From Tuesday, parents can decide for themselves whether their child attends school or works and learns on tasks and projects at home. This initially applies until the end of February, emphasized Busse.
“We stand on the side of the children, young people and families in this city. We are therefore sticking to our main goal of leaving the schools open so that they can fulfill their important educational, upbringing and care obligations,” said Senator Busse on Monday about the new decision. In this way, families with school-age children would also be supported.
“But of course we also take the worries and fears of parents very seriously,” continues Busse. “After the medical officers announced that they would end contact tracing for schoolchildren and no longer send direct contact persons to quarantine, I think the temporary suspension of compulsory attendance is appropriate.”
Criticism of the suspension also came from the opposition and from the children’s charity Unicef.
“With the decision, politics and administration are transferring the responsibility for whether children go to school entirely to the parents,” said Unicef department head Sebastian Siedlmayr on Monday evening. “The promise to close schools last is in danger of being undermined.”