As he tries to drag the British economy out of the pandemic recession, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has a key problem to fix: how to reopen England’s schools.
Unless children return to classrooms next month, millions of parents will be unable to return to work properly, leaving the government with little hope of boosting consumer spending and productivity. The damage to the education of a generation of children, especially from poorer families, could be huge.
“Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible,” Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper.
Yet Johnson finds himself in a fight with teachers’ unions and other authorities over whether it is safe to restart classes. The public is also divided. A YouGov survey on Aug. 4 found that while 57% of Britons thought schools should reopen in full in September, 25% disagreed and 18% were not sure.
Testing Push
Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, whose job it is to champion children’s rights, suggested all pupils and staff should be tested for coronavirus as often as once a week, even if they don’t have symptoms. The government rejects such a step as unnecessary.
Union leaders and opposition politicians have also called for improvements to the country’s Covid-19 test and trace program before schools reopen. Teachers’ leaders want the government to reassure staff they will be supported properly with a backup plan if there’s another surge in infections.
Education is controlled by the U.K.’s devolved national governments, and schools in Scotland will start to reopen this week. Johnson has set a target for all children to return to schools in England from September. Elsewhere in Europe, governments have begun returning pupils to classrooms without triggering sharp rises in infections. In Sweden, schools never closed.
Without the backing of unions and a still cautious public, Johnson will struggle to deliver on his pledge. To bolster his case, the prime minister is expected to cite new state-backed research this week showing there is little evidence that coronavirus is transmitted in schools.
‘Moral Duty’
“This pandemic isn’t over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent,” Johnson wrote in the Mail. “But now we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.”
Johnson has faced growing criticism for his handling of the pandemic, with the U.K. Suffering the highest death toll in Europe amid claims he was too slow to lock down the country. The premier insisted he followed the best scientific advice, but public faith in the government’s response has been damaged.
In late March, 72% of Britons thought ministers were handling the crisis well, but by late July this had fallen to 45%, according to YouGov research.
For the U.K.’s recovery, the risk is Johnson’s record makes it harder for teachers and parents to trust him when he tells them schools are safe.