STA, 17 November 2021 - Primary and secondary school children who have not been vaccinated or recovered from Covid will be required to self-test in school three times a week starting from Wednesday in what the authorities say is an urgent measure in order to keep schools open amid a severe outbreak of the disease in the country.
The children and youths who will not self-test will be required to switch to remote schooling. If they come to school without consent forms signed by their parents, the schools have been instructed to call the parents to come and pick them up, and to notify social services.
Self-testing on school premises is mandatory for all school children, except for those with special needs, who will self-test at home. This is despite a last-ditch attempt by headteachers and the teachers' union to allow the youngest children to self-test at home as a transitional measure.
The call came amid severe opposition by some parents who have threatened schools to take legal action. A form threatening a reprimand and a criminal complaint against teachers over self-testing has been circulating on social networks.
Commenting on that, Branimir Štrukelj, the head of the SVIZ trade union, said that the Education Ministry had assured them the teachers would have their legal protection paid for. The union too would provide legal protection for its members should they face lawsuits.
If due to massive objections to self-testing a school should find itself in a position where it could not organise classes in person, the ministry has instructed for head teachers to propose for the whole school to switch to distance learning.
Responding to calls for children up to the age of 11 to be allowed to self-test at home, Health Minister Janez Poklukar and Education Minister Simona Kustec said the measure was absolutely required in order to keep schools open.
"We have two groups of the infected peaking. One is the 5 to 15-year-olds and the other is those between 24 and 45 years of age. Most infections happen in the family; between school children and parents the virus is spreading unchecked. We need to stop this to be able to cope with the situation in healthcare," said Poklukar.
The children who test positive will need to self isolate until they get back their PCR test results. Until then their classmates will continue with classes in person. Only if the PCR result is positive they will be ordered to quarantine as well.
Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković, who was among those supporting the call for the youngest pupils to be allowed to self-test at home, has said that a PCR testing point will be organised at Stožice sports complex for all students of Ljubljana primary and secondary schools who get a positive self-test.
