Gov't wants to reopen primary schools completely by June: report

The government wants to completely reopen primary schools in June, so that all kids can go to school all week like they did before the coronavirus crisis. If the first weeks of primary schools' partial reopening go without a major outbreak, the government will go through with this plan, sources told NOS.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced that primary schools can partially reopen from May 11. A maximum of half of pupils can be at school per day. Public health institute RIVM considers it safe enough to reopen primary schools, because children play a relatively small role in spreading the coronavirus. The plan is to restart secondary education around June 1 - with the condition that pupils stay 1.5 meters apart - if the reopening of primary schools does not cause a new outbreak.

By completely reopening primary schools before the start of summer vacation, the government wants to give kids as much time as possible to catch up on school work that fell behind while schools were closed. Depending on the holiday region, schools will then have four to six weeks to teach in the "old way" .Summer vacation in the northern region is between July 4 and August 15, in the central region between July 19 and August 30, and in the southern region between July 11 and August 23.

On Wednesday a group of educational organizations presented a protocol for the opening of primary schools after the May holidays. They want children to take turns going to school all day, instead of half going in the morning and half in the afternoon. They hope that this will result in less contact during the day. According to the protocol, parents will no longer be allowed to enter the school building or school yard. It is up to primary school to decide whether they want to follow the protocol.