High school teachers on Monday called for meeting with the education ministry to discuss testing for coronavirus in schools.
Teachers have not welcomed the Test to Stay measure since it was introduced and have complained they are overwhelmed by constant changes to regulations.
Head of high school teachers’ union Oelmek, Costas Hadjisavvas said parents have become health inspectors since the measure was adopted and that Oelmek had already requested an immediate meeting with officials and epidemiologists who approved the measure.
Speaking to CyBC, he said the situation needs assessing and “possibly suspending” before it causes any greater spread of the virus in schools.
On Saturday the ministry of education called on teachers themselves to use the Test to Stay scheme so less of them will be away from the classroom when they have been exposed to the virus.
The ministry said that around 20 per cent of teachers who were off would be in the classroom if they were tested each morning and went in if they proved negative.
Last week, the health ministry too defended the measure, saying that, thanks to it, thousands of children had the opportunity to attend lessons in person.
Since the first day of implementation “the specific measure was embraced by thousands of students and parents,” the ministry said.
It also questioned which data Oelmek was citing when it claimed that more clusters are being detected among students since the implementation of the Test to Stay policy, risking school closures.
Without denying the increase in coronavirus cases in schools, the ministry explained that more infections are being detected because more tests are being carried out.
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