LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sir – Territory parents are grappling with a very different type of school holiday week and deserve certainty about Term 2 school plans. Currently messages about schooling is an avoidable mess.
I fear we are returning to the days of the indecision that has be en the hallmark of the Gunner Government as we try to make sense from the mixed messages about Term 2 schooling.
There have been different messages from different Government ministers, with the Education Minister insisting students physically attend school next week for Term 2 and the Treasurer saying parents will make up their own minds.
Parents, teachers and students are all left wondering what they should be doing n ext week; this is an unacceptable and unavoidable situation for them all.
Parents, teachers and students are all left wondering what they should be doing n ext week; this is an unacceptable and unavoidable situation for them all.
Due to the COVID-19 impact schools throughout the Northern Territory at the end of Term 1 had seen students numbers dramatically drop away with parents choosing to have their children stay at home in line with the pandemic messages from government.
Our school leadership worked tirelessly with their teachers and staff during professional development week to stand up online curriculum and online learning plans and protocols.
Schools were communicating these plans last week to parents. Then Minister Uibo unilaterally pulled the rug out from underneath them all to announce that in Term 2 students were to physically attend school.
This action was condemned by the Australian Education Union.
We now have anxious parents and understandably upset teachers wondering what is going on, why change their excellent online learning plans when the government has not announced that we’re moving into the recovery stage of this pandemic.
Terry Mills (pictured)
Schools were communicating these plans last week to parents. Then Minister Uibo unilaterally pulled the rug out from underneath them all to announce that in Term 2 students were to physically attend school.
This action was condemned by the Australian Education Union.
We now have anxious parents and understandably upset teachers wondering what is going on, why change their excellent online learning plans when the government has not announced that we’re moving into the recovery stage of this pandemic.
Terry Mills (pictured)
Leader of Territory Alliance
