The General Education Union understands that parents may find it annoying when schools stay open for shorter hours due to the heat. But that is allowed. According to educational organizations, adapting buildings is a better solution.
A heat plan has been in effect since Monday because temperatures well above 30 degrees are expected. Schools may then decide for themselves whether to introduce a tropical schedule. This means shorter lesson hours or days. But schools are not required to change anything.
The Ministry of Education reports that the safety of students and teachers must come first. The department relies on the judgment of the schools themselves, for example, to start the school day earlier. “This really concerns customization,” explains a spokesperson. “After all, weather conditions can turn out differently in one part of the country than in another.”
Schools may decide to close the doors if the temperature in the building has risen to 27 degrees and a heat plan is in effect, states the General Education Union (AOb). “Agreements have been made about this,” says a spokesperson.
The largest education union understands that parents may be inconvenienced if a school decides to close earlier or perhaps completely. “But teachers and students can get complaints such as headaches if it is too hot at school. That is also not good.”
Education Union and primary schools advocate for heat-resistant buildings
On behalf of the primary schools, the PO Council says that closing schools can be annoying for working parents, for example. But Vice-President Annet Dries emphasizes that children cannot simply be sent home.
The AOb and the PO Council also agree that adjusted lesson times are not a structural solution. They point out that 80 percent of schools have an indoor climate that is unsuitable for high temperatures. “It would be better if schools were better resistant to the heat,” says Dries.
Both organizations say they have been advocating for money for adjustments for a long time. “Money must be added. This is not progressing in this way,” concludes a spokesperson for the PO Council.