North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW starts the new school year: Corona and lack of staff

Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) - On Wednesday, around 2.

North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW starts the new school year: Corona and lack of staff

Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) - On Wednesday, around 2.5 million schoolchildren in North Rhine-Westphalia start classes again after the summer holidays. For the 171,000 children who start school, the first day of school can also fall on Thursday. In the fourth school year under pandemic conditions, School Minister Dorothee Feller wants to avoid closures and relies primarily on personal responsibility for protective measures.

The CDU politician recommends wearing a mask voluntarily in the classroom. Parents should receive rapid corona tests so that their children can test themselves at home - on a case-by-case basis and voluntarily. On the first day of school there is also a self-test option at school. Several associations such as the state parents' conference and the school management association as well as the teachers' unions VBE and GEW called for more staff. Major challenges such as inclusion, digitization or the renovation of school buildings have to be overcome.