Bad weather Barbara, which has hit our country in recent hours, has also caused problems in schools. Considering that access to school premises will be difficult or even impossible in some cases, the Ministry of Education issued a statement saying that distance learning will be implemented in all areas of the country where schools remain closed by decision of municipalities or regions. outside. He even urged school principals and teachers to ensure that the appropriate links were sent to the students, as well as the programs to be run.

This measure divided the teachers and the ministry and became the reason for the “snow war” between the authorities and the opposition.

Teachers and professors talked about problems with her distance learning in the schools of Attica. Among them is a 5th grade teacher at an elementary school in the center of Athens, who already told her parents yesterday afternoon that she would not continue distance learning today as the school would be closed and she would not have access to funds. that it will provide it.

As the teacher said in her message: “Dear parents, due to the fact that the school is closed and distance learning can only be provided by the means available to our service, there is no access to them and I will not engage in distance learning. .”

In another department of the same school, in the 3rd grade, the teacher tried to connect, but as mentioned in the parents’ public viber chat, the teacher had problems with the Internet connection at her home. At 09:15, parents were informed that there would be no classes in this section today either.

For his part, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, Alexandros Koptsis, in an interview with K, noted that such incidents in the central school of Athens are rare. He even emphasizes that today’s participation in distance learning is very satisfactory, since, according to him, “33 thousand classes were connected, that is, the majority.”

He also added that those teachers who do not have the means or who face the problem of communication from home should be served by schools, especially those who do not have problems with accessibility. “Teachers should be helped by their address. Vouchers have also been issued for the purchase of equipment,” said Mr. Koptsis.

He acknowledges that there are times when technical problems prevent distance learning. When asked what would happen to the children who missed classes today, he said that the ministry would order today’s lesson, as well as tomorrow’s lesson, if a decision is made on distance learning the next day, to be repeated so that it is fixed by all students.

Abstinence rate from teachers is high, says OLME

OUR Stella Manusogiorgakithe general secretary of OLME tells K that the federation’s communication with teachers across the basin shows that there has been a lot of abstinence from teachers – OLME still does not have exact figures at its disposal – but also internet connection problems due to power outages .

According to her, the abstinence is due to the fact that many teachers are asking for distance learning from the school with computers and communications provided by the school complex, where, of course, access is possible.

“However, this request is not fulfilled in many cases, because even schools do not have such funds to give them to all their teachers,” says Ms. Manusogiorgaki and continues: “And also, how many computers should be in every home to satisfy in distance learning and remote work? Many teachers are also parents. Once again, the chaotic distance that exists between the educational world and the Ministry of Education is visible, because the issue of distance education has not been resolved for two years now.”

To warn teachers at the last minute, she also says Iota Venetopoulouboard member of the Hellenic Teachers Federation, who in turn notes that it is almost impossible to digitize and adapt the entire program of the day for the needs of distance learning in less than 24 hours.

Fatigue and abstinence seem to be present in some parents, many of whom work remotely today. As one mother says: “We didn’t enter consciously. And for those who did get in anyway, they weren’t able to “meet” with the four teachers from my kids’ high school because they couldn’t connect to the platform.”

The fact that many teachers have successfully completed this process is also a reality. As the director of the primary school in Agia Varvara says: “In my school, all the teachers are dealing with some technical problems that we are trying to solve.”

New school meeting

In the meantime, the Attica Regional Governor G. Patoulis is meeting online with all the mayors of Attica, as well as the director of research at the National Observatory of Athens, Konstantinos Lagouvardos, to decide which areas schools will remain closed tomorrow.

As K. Patulis points out in K: “At the moment, meteorologists say that it will snow again in the evening, so we are already worried about the situation that will develop tomorrow morning. After all, partial school closures are not what we want, given, for example, that many children in special schools travel from remote areas to reach school complexes, and many teachers do too. All parameters will be taken into account.