From Maxine Murphy-Higgins, chair NIC-ICTU Education Trade Union Group.
Dear Minister Swann
The NI Executive has stated that it is their priority to get all pupils back to school and college and today we hear that Minister Weir was recommending a full return of the schools from the 8th March and that he believed the health officials at Stormont had been “over-cautious” in recommending a phased return.
However, re-opening schools and colleges fully on 8 March is one thing; keeping them open and preventing the need for further restrictions is quite another.
It is vital that the NI Executive recognises that it has already lost the trust of many education workers and needs to do much more to win the confidence of the sector that has continued, throughout the pandemic, to deliver everything that has been asked of them.
Although the rollout of the vaccination programme is going well, it is hugely regrettable and frustrating that the NI Executive has continued to refuse to prioritise education staff in the vaccination programme. Vaccinating education staff would send a clear message that the NI Government is taking seriously the concerns of the profession and demonstrating a genuine commitment to limiting the risk of further disruption to children’s education.
Vaccinating education staff can be done now if there is the political will to do so. There is simply no excuse and no reason to not do so.
Publication type
Letter
