In a recent poll undertaken by The Daily Telegraph, about 77 percent of people in News South Wales want children to return to their classes at the same time pubs, hotels and shopping centres reopen.
Under the current NSW road map to reopening, pubs and shopping centres will open on October 11 to the fully vaccinated, but schools will remain closed for a further two weeks before a staggered return starts on October 25.
“Parents should assume it is October 25 and if there is better news than that, we will convey it. I want to stress we are carefully considering the options we have to get kids to school earlier if we can,” NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said today.
READ MORE: ‘Very nervous about it’: Greek parents react to NSW Government’s return to school plan.
Maroubra mum, Gaye Xenos, said she wanted her 10-year-old daughter, Olivia, and 15-year-old daughter, Natalia, back at school sooner than the October 25 date outlined by the government, because three months of learning from home was not going well.
“With the 15-year-old, I can’t really help her with any work… towards the end of the term if the younger one couldn’t understand something, she was stressed and just wasn’t getting the work done,” Ms Xenos told The Daily Telegraph.
In the end, Ms Xenos just had to wave the white flag, telling her children not to bother with anything they couldn’t understand. She now wants them to return to school sooner if it is safe.
“They are only going back for a few weeks (before summer holidays). I think they could have gone back a bit sooner,” she said.
NSW Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, says the safety of students is the priority.
“I recognise that there are a mix of views across the community on when the right time is for children to return to school,” she said.
“It’s fantastic that we will meet vaccination targets in NSW earlier than originally anticipated. I want students back in the classroom as soon as possible, but we also need to ensure that it is done in a safe and sensible way.
“We continue to review our school settings and plans, as we have done throughout the pandemic, in line with the latest health advice.”
Source: The Daily Telegraph.
