* Photo: AA / Archive
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Amid the recent increase in the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases and deaths in Turkey over the past weeks, the cases diagnosed in the country's schools have also started to increase.
Since March 1, when face-to-face education restarted at schools as part of the 'controlled normalization' steps, 26 teachers have died of COVID-19 and 1,600 teachers have been close contacts.
Speaking to bianet about the situation at schools amid the pandemic, Education Labor Union Chair Orhan Yıldırım has announced that 254 teachers have died of the virus since the pandemic broke out.
Noting that the real numbers might be much higher, Yıldırım has indicated that the Ministry of National Education does not announce the related COVID-19 data despite their all insistent requests.
"As if 26 teachers did not die in 45 days, the Minister of National Education goes from TV channel to TV channel, misleading the public and managing perceptions," Yıldırım has said. "The issue here is not solely about valor, but the lives of our teachers and education personnel are disregarded. Our children are deprived of their right to education with wrong decisions."
'45 days have passed, still no vaccination'
Yıldırım has also reminded us about the statement of Minister of National Education Ziya Selçuk about the vaccination of education personnel:
"The Minister, in February, announced that teachers and school personnel would be vaccinated, the Ministry of Health was informed about the number and this number was 1 million 259 thousand.
"He said that it was added to the Health Ministry's system. He was vaccinated before the cameras on February 24 and we thought that education personnel would be vaccinated as well. It has been 45 days since the Minister was vaccinated, but there has been no vaccination.
'I have not met any vaccinated teacher'
"I have been to 30 provinces in the meantime and I have not encountered any vaccinated teachers, except for the ones having chronic diseases. Some teachers were vaccinated at village schools. But the rate of teachers and personnel at village schools is 4 percent.
"Taken together with the ones vaccinated due to health problems or reasons of age, only 8 percent have been vaccinated so far. It means that around 92 thousand people have been vaccinated.
"The second semester will end in two months, but nearly 2 million teachers are still awaiting vaccination. Even when they vaccinate 1 million people today, they will be immunized 45 days later. The Ministers of Health and National Education have managed this process quite poorly.
"Teachers, students and parents have been abandoned to the COVID-19 risk. According to the information that we obtain from different provinces, a high number of positive cases have been diagnosed at hundreds of schools and they have been quarantined. Hundreds of teachers are either sick at home or in quarantine because they are close contacts."
'We have ill students'
Yıldırım has raised concerns that several students have also contracted COVID-19 and some of them are currently treated at hospitals:
"We do not have an exact number, but our fellow teachers have been informing us that some of their students have been infected.
"The mutant virus is said to affect young people and children as well. As we have chronically ill students, the risk is very high. 18 million students and over 1 million teachers, or a population of over 19 million people, are in motion. There is one student per less then 4 square meters."
'Vaccinating footballers while teachers waiting'
Concluding his remarks, Yıldırım has also talked about the news that football players will be vaccinated against the virus.
"Football players are - of course - not our enemies, but education must be considered primary. But while how high the risk of infection is at schools is apparent, it is unacceptable that they put education personnel aside and give priority to the personnel in their own field.
"Students have been distant from education for over a year. It is really hard to compensate for. Every single day is a loss for the future of our students and society. Vaccination must be done as soon as possible and education must start at schools with necessary measures taken."
Rapid increase in the last 3 weeks
According to the latest data shared by the Education and Science Laborers Union (Eğitim-Sen), 95 teachers tested positive for COVID-19 on February 15 - March 5, when the schools reopened. This number increased to 141 in the week of March 5-12, to 475 in the week of March 12-19 and increased to 669 in the week of March 19-26, 2021.
As for the students, the number of positive cases and close contacts among them was 97 on February 15 - March 5, 269 on March 5 - 12, 433 on March 12 - 19 and it was 1,125 on March 19-26.
While the number of positive cases and close contacts was 10 among the school attendants and civil servants on February 5 - March 5, this number increased to 22 in the week of March 5-12, to 35 in the week of March 12-19 and to 43 in the week of March 19-26. (RT/SD)
