A Tipperary primary school principal has questioned the idea of reopening national schools during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Health Minister Simon Harris says he’s discussed the possibility of reopening schools for one day per week.
The INTO has suggested that this may have to be done on a staggered basis with half of pupils attending in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.
However Brendan Horan from Cahir Boys National School says even this would prove difficult.
“Whatever about telling 6th class pupils to be two metres apart, how can you tell 6 year olds what two metres is?”
“Trying to explain length and distance to children is nigh on an impossibility and even the tables that they use and the furniture that is used in classrooms is all sized down to the individual pupil so even the infrastructure in the classrooms wouldn’t be suited to social distancing.”
