Teachers ask PM - why no schools shutdown?
The largest education union in Europe has written to the Prime Minister asking for full disclosure over his decision not to shut schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Teachers and staff are increasingly asking why the Government is not closing schools in the same way as other countries, particularly now plans are under way to ban mass gatherings, the letter from the National Education Union says.
Boris Johnson said on Thursday that closures now could do "more harm than good", hours after Ireland announced that schools and colleges would close for a fortnight.
The letter from the NEU to Mr Johnson says: "We all want to limit and delay the spread of the coronavirus and we do think medical advice and expert scientific advice is important in this regard.
"But it is clear that such advice can have uncertainties, and that it could be crafted to target a variety of measures.
"We now see that you may take legal powers to force schools to remain open even when heads and teachers think there is good reason to close.
"In those circumstances we, as the leaders of the largest education union, believe that it is right for us to ask you for fuller disclosure of the models you have looked at, and to understand which measures you are targeting.
Published: by Radio NewsHub