The mask will no longer be compulsory in classes for students and teachers from March 14 following the Prime Minister’s announcements and other possible developments will be discussed next week, the Ministry of National Education said on Thursday.
While Jean Castex announced on Thursday the “end of the wearing of the compulsory mask in all places” where it is still applied, except transport, “the application of these measures in the school environment is the lifting of the obligation” indoors ” for all students and staff of the first and second degrees”, specified the Ministry of Education.
“This general framework will of course call for clarification as to its application in the school space” for schools, colleges and high schools, he added.
The ministry clarified that the other possible developments (transition to level 1 of the health protocol, mixing of students, practice of sport, procedure to follow in the event of a student positive for Covid, etc.), would be studied during a health meeting. Wednesday between teachers’ unions and the Ministries of Health and Education.
These announcements were received rather favorably but with caution by the teachers’ unions.
For Stéphane Crochet of SE-Unsa, “this is good news, which needs to be worked out in detail”. “We still want to know what we do with wearing a mask if we have positive cases that appear, or what we do for the practice of indoor sport”, he pointed out.
“What surprises us is the method,” reacted Guislaine David, the general secretary of SNUipp, the first primary union, regretting that the unions are “put up once morest the wall”. “We ask ourselves a lot of questions,” she added. “We are all eager to take off the mask”, but “we can be worried regarding what will happen”.
“I think everyone aspires to remove the mask and especially indoors. But we must remain in a logic of prevention and epidemic surveillance”, added Laetitia Aresu, national secretary of Sgen-CFDT.
The government announced in February a relaxation of the health protocol in schools on the return from school holidays in each zone, with in particular the end of wearing a mask outdoors in the playground. This measure has already entered into force in zones A and B, and will be applied on Monday in zone C.
