The reopening of schools in the European Union has not led to a significant increase in cases of COVID-19 in 22 EU member states.
EU education ministers were told during a teleconference that reopening the schools has not increased infections among students, teachers, and parents in 22 member states, according to the Telegraph.
Schools have been gradually reopening in the EU, with some countries allowing all students to return and others only permitting students in primary school and in the final years of secondary school to return to in-person education.
Croatia’s education minister, Blazenka Divjak, urged caution during the teleconference: Most schools had been open for less than two weeks. She added that “so far, we haven’t heard anything negative about the reopening of schools, but it is probably too early to have final conclusions on that.”
France’s education minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer, said the government’s priority was to avoid making at-risk students “collateral damage” of COVID-19. After visiting a school, Blanquer warned of the damage that could be inflicted on students who were struggling.
“There are always worries and questions, but even so, we should not push school to one side in this current difficult period because there will be terrible damage if we lose a generation of children who have been stopped from going to school for several months.”
One-third of French pupils returned to school in mid-May, with a second wave returning Monday. France closed about 70 schools after new infections were detected, according to the Telegraph. Blanquer says the infections likely happened before schools were opened, citing the two-week incubation period of the virus.
Divjak told her international counterparts that the educational innovations in response to COVID-19 will help make the system more resilient to future crises.
“We will need to take steps and look beyond this emergency response and, based on lessons learned, perhaps consider some innovations that can make our education system more resilient to any potential future crisis.”
