The British Education Secretary has revealed to the Express that stopping schooling for young people was a mistake and that he would do what he could to ensure that education was a priority for the government of England.
Speaking to the Express newspaper, British Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, spoke about school closures during the pandemic and said students desperately needed to be and stay in school.
“I don’t think it takes a survey to tell us that homeschooling was a mistake,” the British Education Secretary began.
“The damage done to young people, especially in terms of their well-being and education [has been significant].”
“Keeping children in school and focused on education must always be a priority and from now on it will be an absolute priority for me and the prime minister”.
On March 23, 2020, schools closed with the exception of essential worker’s sons and those deemed most vulnerable. Researchers from the Institute of Fiscal Studies said it was a “monumental blow to the students”, the Express reports.
Father of three, Zahawi, said:
“I will fight to ensure that we always keep schools open as we learn to live with Covid-19. The damage to these young people has been significant, especially with regard to their well-being and education.
The secretary also highlighted Commissioner Rachel de Souza regarding a survey she carried out which had the participation of more than 500.000 young people.
“The vast majority of the 500.,000 young people responded that they wanted to go back to school and that mental health was the biggest issue in confinement,” revealed Zahawi.
National exams in England will take place in the country for the first time since the Covid outbreak, but experts are convinced that this disruption to teaching during the pandemic has had a significant impact on students.
According to the Children’s Commissioner, nearly 1.8 million pupils missed at least 10% of their school time in the autumn semester in England and some never returned. The number of people who missed half the time of school – 122.,000 – is almost double the pre-pandemic number.
