Teacher and parent groups on Thursday expressed misgivings about the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s plan to relax the mask mandate for schools on March 6, saying it would be premature and could pose risks to immunocompromised children.
Secondary and Elementary Principals’ Association president Chang Hsin-wu (張信務), the principal of an elementary school in New Taipei City, said that his school would continue to keep the mask mandate — a decision made jointly by representatives of parents, teachers and students.
The first priority of educators should be the health and safety of students, he said, adding that caution is needed as schools reopen because there are too many factors that could impact the health of students outside the control of faculty.
Photo copied by Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
Schools regularly hold large gatherings in enclosed spaces that increase the risk of spreading the virus, he said, adding that an overwhelming majority of school administrators would continue to require teachers and students to wear masks.
The Ministry of Education should not give teachers and students of each school the latitude to decide mask rules because the policy could lead to conflict, National Federation of Education Unions president Lin Shuo-chieh (林碩杰) said.
Booster vaccination rates are not high enough among Taiwanese children to keep them safe in public schools, which tend to be too crowded to maintain proper social distancing, he said, urging education officials to delay the ending of the mask mandate.
National Federation of Teachers’ Unions president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) said the ministry should continue its hands-off approach to masks and educators should focus on training students to take care of their personal hygiene.
Schools should be mindful of immunocomprised students, who might need more protection than the rest of the community, said Wang Han-yang (王瀚陽), a spokesperson of the National Alliance of Presidents of Parents’ Associations.
The Central Epidemic Command Center did not lift the mask mandate on public transportation, which shows that officials are not confident that the COVID-19 pandemic has become a thing of the past, National Parent Education Volunteer Association president Wu Fu-pin (吳福濱) said.
“Ending the mandate on March 6 is premature,” he said, adding that there is no reason to rush the decision.
“The pandemic has gone on for three years and students are used to wearing masks,” he said.
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