Coronavirus in Argentina I WHO and Unicef ​​call for return to class, but government still does not set a schedule

In the middle of the “second wave” of coronavirus which strikes much of the world, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday defended the need to keep schools open. According to the entities, doing the opposite could cause “irreversible” damage to the education and socialization of students. However, for the Government, the question is still the subject of debate, and the return to presence, a great mystery.

// Coronavirus I WHO has supported the opening of schools in the event of a pandemic: “We must ensure the education of our children”

Amid the reopening of most business activities, including time slots and long-distance public transport, the future of presence in AMBA schools and other districts in Argentina remains uncertain.

“They criticize me sometimes for going slow and others for going fast”, She complained Nicolas trotta in early October after meeting with education ministers from across the country.

A month later, after meeting again with his provincial peers, he communicated that three different types of schooling had been defined for the 2021 school year, but that a common date had not been established for the start of classes.

In dialogue with TN, The official also indicated that the return of students to classrooms will be subject to the health situation of each district, and stressed that the final date must be agreed by the Federal Council. “We are proposing that the start of classes take place in March,” the government said.

In this way, he distanced himself from the statements of his counterpart in Buenos Aires, Soledad Acuña, who advanced his intention that classes begin on February 17 under one “100% face to face model”.

“A teacher who is in fourth grade next year is actually welcoming students who last attended school in second grade. For it it is better to start as early as possibleThe head of the city’s education portfolio explained in statements to FM Milenium.

In this sense, the national government was more cautious. “We imagine a year of lots of presence in classrooms, but of course we must wait to see what the epidemiological reality looks like“Said Trotta.

On the other side of General Paz, earlier this month, the vice-governor of the province of Buenos Aires, Verónica Magario, anticipated: “We doubt classes will start again in March in person.”

On a related note, Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof described the massive return of students to district schools as “A mess”, following the operations that will require.

“Nowhere in the world is it possible to return to presence and that’s it. The return is done with the windows open, the chin straps, they take turns. Operationally, it’s a messSaid the official.

What the WHO and Unicef ​​say

While the national government and the various district administrations continue to analyze the issue, WHO and Unicef ​​on Thursday defended the need to keep schools open, and warned against “irreversible” effects that prolonged shutdown of the same can have in students.

“We must ensure the education of our children“, a point Hans kluge, WHO Director for Europe, during a virtual conference from the headquarters of the regional office in Copenhagen. He also insisted that children and adolescents are not the main drivers of contagion and that closure of establishments educative “It is not effective”.

According to the senior manager, opting for social isolation should be “A measure of last resort”, because it can cause damage Mental Health young people and socialization, among other serious side effects.

Meanwhile, the executive director of Unicef, Henrietta ForeHe argued that due to the pandemic, “The future of an entire generation is in danger.”

According to the official, interruptions of basic services and rising poverty rates represent “the greatest threat to children” and, the longer the crisis persists, “the more profound its consequences. consequences on education, children’s health, nutrition and well-being ”.

Regarding the problem of schools, noted that “these establishments are not the main transmission factor in the community, and children are more likely to contract the virus outside of school ”. “The net benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of closing them”.