One-third of 150,000 parents consulted in an online survey conducted by the Jalisco state government say they do not want their children to return to in-person classes until a Covid-19 vaccination program has started.
One-third of respondents said classes should resume only when infections have “significantly diminished,” while the remainder of the participants in the survey said they would like to see students back in school within a month.
Jalisco Education Secretary Juan Carlos Flores Miramontes called the decision as to when to reopen schools “extremely difficult.” He said the system in which students can arrange individual “sessions” with teachers appears to be working well, and has been replicated in states throughout Mexico. However, Flores Miramontes said he is acutely aware that the current program of online and televised classes is unsustainable in the long-term.
Morena Party state legislator Arturo Lemus called the survey unnecessary, stressing that the decision to resume classes should be made exclusively by health experts.