Which schools will operate offline, and where will distance learning be introduced? Is it legal to suspend teachers without vaccination? Educational Ombudsman Responsible
In many countries around the world, the Covid-19 vaccine has already become conditionally mandatory. Without forcing people to get vaccinated, employers nonetheless favor vaccinated citizens. For example, the world famous news agency CNN recently fired three employees who refused to get vaccinated. In Ukraine, it seems, they also decided to make vaccination voluntary-compulsory. At least in the public sphere. Last week, the Cabinet of Ministers banned schools from working offline if 80% of employees were not vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Which schools will work "remotely"
Under the new rules, almost all schools in the country will again go "remotely" / istockphoto.com
After a relatively long lull, the incidence of coronavirus in Ukraine is growing again. Experts predict that in the fall the country may return to quarantine restrictions. After all, the Delta strain, which now "operates" mainly in the west, is obligatory
will apply to all regions. Will schools operate under quarantine conditions? The Cabinet of Ministers says yes. The only condition set by the officials: to work offline, at least 80% of school employees must be vaccinated.The corresponding decree entered into force on August 5. It does not apply to green areas of quarantine: in regions with low morbidity, schools will operate without restrictions. But as soon as the city moves into the yellow, orange or red zone, vaccinations for teachers will become a prerequisite for "live" learning. If less than 80% of employees are vaccinated at a school, such an educational institution switches to a distance or mixed mode of teaching. According to the experience of the last academic year, schoolchildren are likely to be transferred to "remote work" again. Nobody will bother with blended learning in schools.
According to statistics, in such conditions, almost all schools in the country will switch to distance learning. Indeed, today all over Ukraine, less than 35% of teachers are vaccinated. True, these numbers are very different depending on the region. Parents of Kiev schoolchildren will be most fortunate: in the capital, almost 90% of teachers have been vaccinated against Covid-19. The worst rates of vaccination are in Western Ukraine: for example, in Volyn and in the Ternopil region (where the Delta strain is now spreading), only 10% of teachers were vaccinated against coronavirus.
It is illegal to suspend unvaccinated teachers from work
A vaccinated teacher does not protect the class from the spread of the disease / istockphoto.com
The condition set by the Cabinet of Ministers has already caused a great resonance in the society. Human rights activists say that at the moment the authorities have no legal basis to remove unvaccinated teachers from work. “Vaccination of teaching staff is not mandatory,” educational ombudsman Sergei Gorbachov reminds on his Facebook page. - As for all other citizens of the country, it remains voluntary for them. Therefore, the head of an educational institution does not have the right to restrict access to work for a teacher who has not received the vaccination. "
True, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers does not talk about dismissal from work, it talks about distance learning. However, such a step still contradicts logic. The vaccinated teacher is 95% (according to the latest data on the effectiveness of vaccines) protects only himself and his colleagues. At the same time, it hinders the spread of coronavirus in the children's collective to a very small extent. And since children under 12 years of age are prohibited from getting the coronavirus vaccine in Ukraine, they remain the main carriers of the infection at school.
How justified in this situation is to force teachers to defend themselves? With all the proven effect of vaccination, this is everyone's personal business. By its decree, the government only incites conflicts in society. After all, parents will blame schools for the fact that their children are forced to study at home. It may make sense not to tie educators to vaccinations and maintain a situational approach - for example, quarantine schools in the red zone or in the event of an outbreak. This has already been done in America: there, schools were recommended to go offline education everywhere, and close only where the covid was raging.
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