How Does Education Work in the World in the Shadow of Corona?

In Germany, the corona test with lollipops is carried out, in Japan, students take off their shoes and attend classes. While the vaccination rate among teachers in Spain approaches 100 percent, in Italy, a PCR test is requested from unvaccinated teachers every 48 hours, as in Turkey. Seda Yekeler Education Foundation Founding President Seda Yekeler gave information about the measures in countries where schools start face-to-face education.

How does education continue in the world?

The coronavirus has disrupted education all over the world. 1,5 billion children affected by school closures; 463 million could not access distance education. Turkey has become the second country where schools are closed for the longest time, after Mexico, among OECD countries. With the discovery of the vaccine and the start of normalization, students around the world began to return to schools. While some countries opened schools in August, in some countries, like Turkey, education started in September. In Turkey, if teachers are not vaccinated, PCR tests are requested twice a week, and there is a rule that the lessons should not exceed 40 minutes. In addition, all students come to school with masks, food and beverage consumption is carried out at separate times. When a positive case is detected in the family of the teacher or student, the teacher or student in the family where the case was detected is considered close contact. So how is the situation in other countries?

Lollipop test in Germany

Stating that masks and hygiene measures will be valid for the people in Germany this year, Yekeler said, "Germany is also implementing some practices to convince families that their children will be safe and to prevent face-to-face education from stalling." Stating that in some states in Germany, a very easy test called the Loli test is carried out for children, Yekeler said, “The student holds a test kit like a cotton swab for 30 seconds in his mouth and sucks it. In fact, a song called lollipop was made for them to listen to during this time. All of the collected test strips are placed in a single tube and sent to the laboratory, and a test is performed for each class. Because the cost of each test is 50 Euros. If Kovid-19 is found in the tube of the classroom as a result of these tests, which are both much more practical and painless than the nasal swab test, the school principal informs the parents. If a mask is also worn in the classroom, only the student who has a positive test and his or her classmate are quarantined.”

they take off their shoes

Pointing out that he has decided to open his schools cautiously while the epidemic is increasing rapidly in some cities in Japan, Yekeler noted that 500 thousand of the XNUMX million positive people detected since the beginning of the epidemic were infected in August, and listed the measures in Japan as follows:

• In some cities, such as Nakazato, classes are split in two, and half of the students come to school one day and the other half the next.
• Those who are not at school follow their lessons online.
• 800.000 test kits have been distributed to kindergartens, primary and secondary schools to test teachers and students in schools.
• At the entrance of the schools, they take off the shoes they wear outside and put on the soft-soled shoes they use inside the school and in the classrooms.
• Each student sits alone and has clear plastic protectors on the front and sides of their desks.
• In the Japanese education system, lunches are also seen as a part of learning, and students wear white coats to distribute the meals, while educators say they have a hard time keeping students from talking.
• Masks are only allowed to be removed during outdoor physical education classes.
• Individual physical activities are performed instead of ball sports.
• The students are all lined up facing the same direction and they are forbidden to speak loudly.

All the teachers are vaccinated

The prominent measures in Spain are as follows:

• 12 percent of children and young people between the ages of 19-33 have received their 2 dose vaccination appointments. 72 percent of these young people have received their first dose of vaccines. The vaccination rate among teachers is almost 100 percent.
• Since the European pharmaceutical agency has not yet approved the vaccine under the age of 12, it is not possible to vaccinate under this age group, but it is expected that vaccination permission will be issued under the age of 12 in the autumn or winter months.
• They hope to continue to keep schools open by taking familiar measures to combat the epidemic, such as masks, distancing and hygiene.
• Testing in schools is not mandatory, but encouraged.

The situation in the USA is mixed.

Pointing out that there are great differences between states in the USA, Yekeler said the following about what happened in the country:

• Over 12 years of age are encouraged to be vaccinated.
• More than 1.000 schools were closed immediately after the schools opened.
• Schools were closed in Texas after several teachers died.
• In states with low adult vaccination rates, thousands of children have unfortunately tested positive for the coronavirus.
• It was reported that an average of 60 children were hospitalized daily in the state of Florida. However, the governor of the same state does not sign the law that will make masks mandatory in schools. Although many schools opposed the governor for this reason, there are also those who find the governor right.

PCR every 48 hours

According to the information given by Seda Yekeler about the practices in the world, if a student's test is positive in France, the class is closed for a week. In Italy, teachers are required to have at least one vaccination or to bring a negative PCR test every 48 hours. In the UK, if the student's test is positive, he must be quarantined at home for 10 days.