Parents and teachers face uncertainty over whether students will be back in classrooms in term 4 after the Education Minister said college students would be prioritised in a staged return to school.
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Chief Minister Andrew Barr said more details on schools reopening would be revealed on Tuesday and dismissed the suggestion that junior students would be at home for the rest of the year as "speculation".
It came after Education Minister Yvette Berry told Win News she wouldn't expect any return to face-to-face teaching for students outside of the college system at this stage.
"As soon as we have the opportunity to start rolling out vaccinations to younger people then we'll have a really good idea and a plan for a way forward," she said.
Australian Education Union ACT branch senior industrial officer Patrick Judge said any return plan should be made in consultation with teachers and in line with health advice.
"We're not aware of any plan to return to face-to-face teaching in the initial weeks of term four at the moment. And noting that we're approaching the end of term three so there's quite a tight turn around," Mr Judge said.
"But, again, we'll be guided by the health advice and what's possible within the restrictions we're working with."
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Opposition education spokesman Jeremy Hanson said parents wanted more certainty.
"It's vague and what parents need is clarity so they can plan," Mr Hanson said.
"There was an expectation that they would come back to school after the school holidays. It would appear that's not the case."
Mr Hanson said students should be back at school as soon as it was safe so they didn't miss out on the academic and social aspects of the school environment.
ACT Council of P&C Associations president Alison Elliot said parent representatives met with Education Directorate and ACT Health officials to give their views on how a return to school should be manage.
"Parents are caught between, on one hand, wanting students to return to school as soon as possible because home learning is difficult and they're worried about lost learning or lost income, but on the other hand, they are concerned about the risk of their kids - and family - getting sick," she said.
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