Picture: Daily News

 

Today, November 1st was billed as the day that the Bangkok authority's 437 schools would be opening for the second semester.

 

Daily News reported that the schools were ready but it was all online. 

 

Kindergarten and primary pupils have no end in sight for online learning.

 

Secondary may get back in school in some capacity by mid-month.

 

This may depend on 85% of the campus being vaccinated or not.

 

The reality for parents and pupils - many of the older ones now fully vaccinated - is that the schools are all but shut. 

 

Kriangyot Sutlapha, deputy BMA governor, tried to put a brave face on the mess saying that every level had its own rules to follow.

 

Primary and the kindies would continue with "4 On" for now.

 

This means online, DLTV lessons On-Air, On Hand, doing work assignments collected from school and On School Line - trying to learn something in a group on the Line application. 

 

Kriangyot said that double vaccination of children in M 4-6 - the last three years of secondary education - had been completed.

 

M 1-3 would get their second doses from 8th to 10th November. 

 

109 schools would continue with "4 On" with On-Site added on 15th November. 

 

But even then the reopening would be limited to small groups and certain areas where a whole host of protocols could be followed.

 

Children and staff can expect ATK testing on return mid month as well as many other restrictions. 

 

This is under the Sandbox Safety Zone in School initiative.

 

Most children in Bangkok have been off school since before Songkran in April. 

 

When online parents have been struggling to help their children with baffling lessons.

 

Their frustrations and those of their children - especially very little ones - look set to continue despite the "opening Thailand" rhetoric, notes ASEAN NOW. 

 

Many parents are resigned to having their children at home into the New Year. 

 

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I know one school will try a Hybrid teaching method. Half the kids physically in class, half via Zoom in the same classroom. One of the basic requirements will be for teachers to have a headset microphone. The school doesn't want to buy a mic for each teacher, rather buy one for each classroom (cheap!).  What could possibly go wrong?

Out here in rural Kamphaeng Phet my son started school today. However as there are 42 pupils in the class, half the class (including my son) are being taught online from 1st to 15th of November and the other half are physically in class. On 16th they swap over.

 

The school I know will open on site per 1st of December  or maybe later if the situation worsens...

Sounds like no one wants to take responsibility.  Can't really blame them.  If a school has an outbreak and then a family member dies, that's a pretty big embarrassment for the school, and a tragic loss for the family.

 

At the end of the day, everyone wants the kids back in the schools, but the risk to any unvaccinated family members is considerable.  The time between contracting the virus and showing symptoms, or in between random testing, could allow one case to turn into tens and then hundreds quite quickly.

 

Opening up anything means more cases are likely.  it's all about making a trade off and someone being responsible for that decision.

 

The question is, can a student really go back to school before his or her entire family has been vaccinated?

6 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

The school I know will open on site per 1st of December  or maybe later if the situation worsens...

I heard of schools saying "we cannot open yet, numbers are still very high".  Well, they're probably only going to get higher.

Maybe I'm missing something but I would say any kid whose family are prepared to send them in should be welcome and any kid who wants to continue online should be welcome.

Sort of the same for teachers having to be double jabbed, but to a lesser extent.

We need kids back at school (to have their hair cut, be forced to stand in line, and be punished physically) sooner than we need borders and pubs open.

4 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

Sounds like no one wants to take responsibility.  Can't really blame them.  If a school has an outbreak and then a family member dies, that's a pretty big embarrassment for the school, and a tragic loss for the family.

 

At the end of the day, everyone wants the kids back in the schools, but the risk to any unvaccinated family members is considerable.  The time between contracting the virus and showing symptoms, or in between random testing, could allow one case to turn into tens and then hundreds quite quickly.

 

Opening up anything means more cases are likely.  it's all about making a trade off and someone being responsible for that decision.

 

The question is, can a student really go back to school before his or her entire family has been vaccinated?

My wife has had Sinovac as the first jab and AZ as the second in August/September, I have had 2 Pfizer jabs in September/October and our son has had 2 Pfizer jabs in October. Our neighbours have also been vaccinated. Our son is doing the first 2 weeks online at home and then the next 2 weeks at school.

 

I don't think that there is anything more wee can do.

The relevant ministers are conspicuously quiet about recommendations for opening the schools.

As mentioned in an earlier post, this being Thailand, nobody wants to be seen making a decision in case it all goes south due to low vaccination numbers amongst parents.

A quick, informal survey of my P4 - P6 students showed that about at least 1/4 of them lived in the same house as their grandparents. 

Before opening the schools should be asking how many of the students grandparents have been vaccinated? 

Given the governments priorities unless those grandparents are in the military or work for a company that is owned be some high-so person, I would be surprised if they were all jabbed.

I must be one of the lucky ones. My 6-year-old's school in Bangkok reopens on Monday.