ESF parents warn of class dangers

A group of parents from the English Schools Foundation have started an online petition to urge the foundation to reverse its decision to resume full-time teaching by requiring their staff to undergo regular Covid-19 testing, saying the move increases students' exposure risk.

The petition - Minimize the risks for our ESF children - to ESF chief executive Belinda Greer calls on her to reverse the management's decision, which the petitioners said could have been influenced by a small group of parents.

The move was reported last week as 3,000 teachers and staff members at schools run by ESF, the city's biggest international school owner, will undergo Covid-19 testing from this morning, saying it is a step aimed to resume in-person classes for all students.

But the fresh petition by a group of parents of ESF students across the city said: "We note a recent letter from parents claiming to represent 0.5 to 1 percent of the ESF student population in Hong Kong, demanding mandatory Covid-19 testing of teachers, and resumption of full-time in-person teaching. The authors of this letter represent neither us nor, we believe, the majority of parents.

"Its demands are unreasonable, and its bullying tone undermines the relationship of mutual trust which underpins our joint mission as parents and teachers to do the best for our children.

The petition said ESF would be joining "a tiny minority of schools" in the SAR planning to resume full-time teaching imminently.

The ESF has not set the exact date for the full resumption of in-person teaching.

The petition said it was wrong to suggest that the immeasurable benefits of full face-to-face teaching should outweigh other concerns.

"We need to strike a sensible balance between effective education for our children; and the safety and well-being of both them and their teachers. We believe the current blend of in-person and virtual teaching does this well, and until the risks are further minimized, feel this is in the best interests of all stakeholders."

"The benefits should not outweigh the concerns of increasing the potential exposure time of our children to a deadly virus, and in doing so increasing the risk of them being separated from their parents and sent to government quarantine centers.

"They should not outweigh the legitimate concerns of teachers in facing regular, mandatory testing. There is little value in having our children taught by teachers who have been forced into this position."

The ESF has engaged the services of a private vendor to supply and process the "spit-test" kits for its schools.

The vendor will deliver the test kits for all staff to schools and collect the test samples the following day, providing the test results to schools within 24 hours. The test will be carried out every 14 days for all teachers and staff.