NDP Deputy Leader and Education Critic Sarah Hoffman (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By rdnewsNOW Staff

Province Says Details This Week

NDP calling for clarity on return to class plan, emergency funding for schools

Dec 30, 2021 | 11:13 AM

Alberta’s NDP is calling for action to keep schools safe amid the surging fifth wave of COVID-19 being spurred by the Omicron variant.

On Tuesday, it was confirmed that Alberta set a single-day record of 2,775 new COVID-19 cases.

With most Alberta students set to return to class next week, the NDP says a number of other provinces have delayed the return to classes. The party notes that British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia have all delayed the return to in-person classes to Jan. 10, while New Brunswick has pushed back to Jan. 18. In Newfoundland, school has gone online indefinitely.

“We are days away from classes resuming in Alberta and parents, teachers and students are in the dark,” said NDP Education Critic Sarah Hoffman. “No one wants to see schools remain closed, but the government has done nothing to keep them safe despite having weeks of warnings about the surge of Omicron cases.

“This is a pattern with the UCP Government. Through four previous waves of COVID they did next to nothing to support schools and we saw widespread outbreaks and repeated closures as a result.”

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Hoffman is demanding an answer on the back-to-school plan. She has also called for the coming Grade 12 diploma exams to be made optional and for additional funding for school boards to acquire PPE, including N95 masks and HEPA filters as have been requested by many Alberta parents, engineers and healthcare workers, notes Hoffman.

“This is stressful for Alberta students, for parents and for teachers,” Hoffman said. “The last thing students need is the stress of a final exam hanging over them with all that’s going on. We’ve made diplomas optional before during unprecedented circumstances and we should do it again.

“As well, when classes do resume, we need a real plan to keep them safe. We see widespread evidence that COVID is airborne and the best protection afforded is through N95 masks and better airflow delivered by HEPA filters, there is no excuse for the UCP to continue withholding critical funding from schools during a fifth wave that may be larger than previous waves of COVID.”

Premier Jason Kenney noted on Tuesday that a decision regarding students returning to in-person learning or moving online, would be made later in the week.