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Coronavirus – Opposition slams Orbán’s remarks on containment measures in schools
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Opposition parties on Friday slammed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s remarks regarding necessary measures in schools amid the new coronavirus outbreak.
Socialist lawmaker Ágnes Kunhalmi, the deputy head of parliament’s educational committee, insisted that Orbán had “threatened” teachers with placing them on unpaid leave in case of a comprehensive school shutdown.
Kunhalmi noted that Hungary declared a national “state of emergency” and introduced a “special legal order” on Wednesday. In such a situation, the government has the power to deviate from legislature, she said.
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The government has the power under the “special legal order” to impart legislation acknowledging a shortened academic year as full, she said. Likewise, the government has the power to place teachers on paid leaves in case of a shutdown, she said.
Money to pay the teachers for the period in question had been included in the 2020 budget, Kunhalmi said. There is no reason to strip them of paid leave, she added.
Kunhalmi called it a “stupid argument” that schools should remain open because children are “not involved” in the epidemic. Children can also contract the virus and infect others, she said. Keeping schools open in the current situation is “risky”, she said.
Kunhalmi also noted that in the case of a confirmed Covid-19 patient, no tests were conducted on the patient’s child, family and the child’s class in a Budapest high school. Kunhalmi called on the government not to “skimp” on tests for the virus.
At another, online press conference, a lawmaker of the Párbeszéd party said the government should prolong the spring break in schools and bring its date ahead to double as a containment measure.
Bence Tordai called on the government to consult trade unions on procedures for the remaining academic year and possibly on reducing the work load in schools.
He called on the government to ensure full wages for teaching staff and “stop threatening them with completely baseless ideas like an unpaid leave.”
Tordai insisted the government was dragging its foot on a shutdown because its primary concern was GDP growth and not people’s health.
He called on the government to develop an “action plan to protect society”, to modify this year’s and review next year’s budget.
Tordai proposed that parents keep their children home on their own responsibility, despite a government ban on such actions.