Education Unions Call for Final Year Students' Return to School to be Optional

Seven education unions have joined forces to ask Luxembourg's Minister of Education to make school attendance optional for final year students in the current context.

In a joint statement issued last week, the ACEN, AGESS, APESS, CNEL, FEDUSE/CGFP, SEW/OGBL and UNEL called on Education Minister Claude Meisch to give students in their final year of secondary school the choice to attend (or not attend) school in person following the decision to reopen schools from this week.

Despite welcoming the planned sanitary measures aimed at increasing the safety of students, the education unions maintained that students should not be forced to face the risk of infection just ahead of their final exams by having to use public transport or attend school.

Consequently, the seven signatory unions have urged the Education Minister to seriously consider the concerns and questions of the whole population and exchange and coordinate with school partners once again.