Rescuing Our Kids Education

The government is proposing a £1 billion fund for tutoring kids who have lost out as a result of schools having been closed due to lockdown.  The money should instead be put directly into schools, as part of a programme to enable schools to make up for the time lost, and damage done to our kids education and prospects.

In practice, schools have had their Summer, Autumn, Winter, and next Spring holidays brought forward by the lockdown.  The obvious means of catching up, therefore, so that the education and prospects of our kids and grandkids are not damaged, is to cancel those future holidays, and the government should make available the resources for that.  This school year should be extended to the end of September, with schools staying open now continuously during that period, with weekend, and evening sessions if required, for those needing to complete exams, or who have exams next year.

The next  school year could start immediately after that, and again run continuously.  A lot of time is wasted at Christmas with all of the rigmarole of religious festivities, which really should have been scrapped decades ago, but in order to compensate for the time lost during the government imposed lockdown, they should certainly be scrapped now, and the time used to ensure that our kids get the education they have been denied over the last few months.  By working through the Easter and Spring holidays next year, the time lost could be clawed back, so that our kids are not disadvantaged when they come to take their exams next year.  At least, not more disadvantaged than they already are compared to the kids of the ruling class.  The government has said it would be necessary to have class sizes of around 15 to be able to achieve the physical distancing of 2 metres, and uses this as an excuse, but the truth is that the average class size in private schools has always been only around 12, so if we want to reduce the disadvantages our kids suffer, that is something we should have demanded anyway.  We need many more schools, and many more teachers, but the ruling class have no reason to give them to us, and nor does the capitalist state.  It only provides the resources required to enable it to produce the labour-power that capital requires, at any time, at the lowest cost.  If we really want education that meets our needs, we have to take the provision of education, as with the provision of health and social care, back directly into our hands.

The truth is that there was never any reason for schools to have been closed down.  Kids are not affected by COVID19, unless there is some exceptional conditions coming into play.  The number of kids up to 14 that have died from COVID19 is just 6, out of a total of more than 41,000 deaths in total.  And, the WHO itself now says that people, including kids who are asymptomatic do not pass on the virus either.  There was certainly no danger to kids from going to school over the previous period, whilst they have lost a considerable amount due to lack of education.  A danger to teachers, and other school staff, of course, existed, but again, not to the majority.  The 80% of teachers and staff, like the rest of society are at no serious risk from Covid19.  It is only the 20%, those over 60 or with underlying medical conditions that weaken their immune system, that were at risk.

So, the obvious answer here is to ensure that all teachers and staff that are in that 20%, or who have someone in their household in that category, are put on indefinite sick leave with full pay.  That means that the government needs to put in the resources to fund that, and to fund the supply teachers that would need to be brought in to replace them for the duration.  That is what should have been done over the last few months to prevent our kids losing education in the first place, but it is certainly what should happen now to enable schools to open fully, and to enable them to catch up, whilst keep all school staff safe in the process.