The article has been published on www.etaloni.ge on May 21, 2020

"The new coronavirus is not going anywhere and we have to learn to live with it," - this is the prediction of epidemiologists, which raises many questions that will hopefully be answered. More specifically, we wonder what recommendations schools will have to follow from September in order to maximize the safety of the students and teachers or other school staff, even parents and the community as a whole?!

It may seem a bit early to talk about this issue now, but it will take some time to resolve it, and the sooner the details are clarified, the more thoroughly we will prepare for the various challenges.

The President of the Educators and Scientists Free Trade Union of Georgia, Maia Kobakhidze, told Etaloni.ge that schools will have to take into account certain recommendations - from social distance, to students' thermoscreening; Not to mention the observance of hygiene norms and stocks of disinfectants.

Khatuna Zakhashvili, head of the Department of Communicable Diseases at the National Center for Disease Control, also raised the issue, noting that social distancing is likely to remain on the agenda; Consequently, it turns out, 25 students can no longer sit in the classroom together. Khatuna Zakhashvili also clarified that the implementation of these recommendations will be mandatory.

Given all this, the question arises - how will educational institutions be able to distance students? Given that there are, on average, more than 20 children in each class (we do not mean small contingent schools), this would be impossible without a class split, in which case the school would not only have to vacate classrooms and add teachers, but also arrange two shifts. This, in turn, will automatically increase teachers' school hours and utility bills.

How schools will address these issues will be clarified once the specific recommendations are known in detail, although before that, another issue is strict adherence to hygiene standards, which in some schools is virtually impossible. This issue is especially acute in villages where educational institutions are not even normally supplied with water.

Another issue is the students' thermoscreening - I wonder if the schools will need to add competent staff for this job or will the bailiffs measure the temperature? Moreover, we must bear in mind that not all schools have a nurse.

These are the issues that are now emerging and which all educational institutions are expected to face from September, so all the competent instances expect serious work, because it is about ensuring the security of the next generation. That is why we are talking now and asking questions, to which we are undoubtedly entitled.