Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meets students at Stolpedal school as the country went into phase two of its reopening, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, Aalborg, Denmark, May 18. Ritzau Scanpix / Henning Bagger / Reuters
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meets students at Stolpedal school as the country went into phase two of its reopening, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, Aalborg, Denmark, May 18. Ritzau Scanpix / Henning Bagger / Reuters
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meets students at Stolpedal school as the country went into phase two of its reopening, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, Aalborg, Denmark, May 18. Ritzau Scanpix / Henning Bagger / Reuters
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen meets students at Stolpedal school as the country went into phase two of its reopening, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, Aalborg, Denmark, May 18. Ritzau

The real danger in keeping children out of school is the impact on their development


  • English
  • Arabic

Teachers in the UK are fuelling divisions over how to restart the cruelly interrupted school year.

One of the greatest consequences of the coronavirus shutdown is set to be the decades-long effects on those who are still learning.

Lost time is harmful at every age, but particularly for the youngest and those in crucial exam years hoping for a gateway to the future.

Throughout the pandemic, the magical factor of good leadership has been obvious. Some countries bore a lesser impact of the pandemic than peers because of good decisions.

The teaching profession is now being asked how it can lead for those it has been entrusted to build and guide.

Unfortunately, many in the profession are shying away from the call and appear preoccupied with political debating points and picking fights.

One country that has successfully restarted schooling is Denmark. The teaching profession there has shown initiative in how to create space for socially distant learning.

Its children have been successfully back in school since April 15. The key to a quick restart from the lockdown was that teachers played a leading role in reinventing schooling.

Some of the classes take place outdoors. There was a well-structured plan for distancing as pupils queued to get into the school.

Small classes mean children can keep their distance. Administrators were quick to strike deals with cultural centres, which are still mothballed, to open up performing spaces and auditoriums for additional classroom space.

Boots outside a classroom as staff make preparations at Watlington Primary School to reopen to children on June 1, Watlington, UK, May 21. Eddie Keogh / Reuters
Boots outside a classroom as staff make preparations at Watlington Primary School to reopen to children on June 1, Watlington, UK, May 21. Eddie Keogh / Reuters

Teacher have embraced the new venues. Schoolchildren were even able to go to school in Denmark’s national soccer stadium.

For a country that was fearful of the future, the images of five-year-olds singing the national anthem in the lounges overlooking the pitch were a real boost to national morale.

The poorest children are suffering the most, cut off from school meals, organised exercise, computers and knowledge

Museum space was imaginatively co-opted as a place of learning.

A yacht club threw open its space and sailing capabilities to local children, who have since begun learning to sail.

All this is possible while continuing to observe special measures, such as regular breaks for hand-washing.

Other neighbouring countries have also returned successfully.

Germany has been able to go ahead with the Arbitur, the country’s top school exam.

It has separated school rooms with white lines and made face masks compulsory in communal areas.

The experience of the 22 European countries that reopened classrooms since the pandemic was declared is, however, mixed.

Not every country has been able to get all institutions up and running. Others have opened schools only to face partial shutdowns.

Then there is the resistance to a restart before the summer break in places where the lockdown was continuing.

Britain cancelled its A-Level exams as it went into lockdown in mid-March. The decision had the merits of being clear cut.

It appears to have convinced teachers they would not be back in schoolrooms until the next teaching year.

Now rows rage in the UK about protective equipment and resources for changing the layouts of the schools.

Teacher Rhiannon Sharman makes preparations for Watlington Primary School to reopen to children on June 1. Eddie Keogh / Reuters
Teacher Rhiannon Sharman makes preparations for Watlington Primary School to reopen to children on June 1. Eddie Keogh / Reuters

A June 1 deadline for the resumption has been put in doubt, even though many teachers and experts say there are compelling reasons to resume.

The medical evidence is not yet conclusive on how infectious a child with Covid-19 is, but there is strong evidence that the clinical effect on the young is negligible.

The real danger in keeping children out of school is the impact on their development.

Parents are not trained teachers. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that children at the best (and most expensive) fee-paying schools are able to access a seamless level of education.

Outside the top tier of schools, the picture is grim.

Teachers who post one blog of five or six tasks a day are barely carrying out their mission to be educators.

A single call by the teacher in a week, or a month, to parents in lockdown is tokenistic at best.

One survey in Britain estimated that 10 per cent of pupils had no home coursework from their schools.

That inevitably means the poorest children are suffering the most.

Life chances have already been altered by changes in exam timetabling. Covid-19 has cut off the disadvantaged from access to school meals, organised exercise, computers and knowledge.

It is more than an offence against the natural justice of doing well or badly according to circumstance.

The wider social need for children to pass through uniform education is a universal good.

Nearly every country can sustain this regardless of conflict, poverty or ideology. Like the postal system it is remarkably common and familiar.

Instead teachers are feeding on a climate of fear and rumour mongering. The pendulum has swung as the lockdown has continued while infection rates peaked.

Avoiding longer term harms now rests on the shoulders of teachers.

Damien McElroy is the London bureau chief of The National

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg

Rating: 4/5

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Pad Man

Dir: R Balki

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte

Three-and-a-half stars

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

MATCH INFO

English Premiership semi-finals

Saracens 57
Wasps 33

Exeter Chiefs 36
Newcastle Falcons 5

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Race card:

6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m

7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m

7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m

8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m

8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m

9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m

10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m

Premier Futsal 2017 Finals

Al Wasl Football Club; six teams, five-a-side

Delhi Dragons: Ronaldinho
Bengaluru Royals: Paul Scholes
Mumbai Warriors: Ryan Giggs
Chennai Ginghams: Hernan Crespo
Telugu Tigers: Deco
Kerala Cobras: Michel Salgado

The%20specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs
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Wayne Rooney's career

Everton (2002-2004)

  • Appearances: 48
  • Goals: 17
     

Manchester United (2004-2017)

  • Appearances: 496
  • Goals: 253
     

England (2003-)

  • Appearances: 119
  • Goals: 53
ALL THE RESULTS

Bantamweight

Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.

Catch 74kg

Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.

Strawweight (Female)

Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.

Featherweight

Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.

Lightweight

Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.

Welterweight

Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.

Bantamweight

Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.

Lightweight

Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.

Lightweight

Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.

Welterweight

Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.

Featherweight title bout

Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.

'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'

Rating: 3/5

Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro

Writers: Walter Mosley

Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins

In numbers

- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100

- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100

- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India

- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100

- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Get Out

Director: Jordan Peele

Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford

Four stars

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000