Gladys Berejiklian changes course on HSC students returning to school
The New South Wales government’s plans to have year 12 back to face-toface teaching by 16 August appear to be in tatters, amid rising Covid case numbers among younger people and resistance from all parts of the school system.
The government is now urgently working on an alternative plan that is likely to involve different approaches for different parts of the greater Sydney region.
For many students the Higher School Certificate trial exams are likely to take place online with priority for returning to school being given to students who need to complete major works or undertake oral assessments.
The premier, Gladys Berejiklian, flagged the rethink at her daily press conference on Wednesday.
“Our commitment, and the outcome remains, that every year 12 student who is a candidate for the HSC, we’ll make sure they get their qualification. We announced that from 16 August there will be some opportunity for some level of face-to-face but we will have more to say about that,” she said.
“I want to stress to year 12 students and their family, as difficult as it is each and every one of you will be fairly assessed to obtain your HSC.”
There have been discussions about possibly using rapid antigen testing at schools, however this option may not be viable as it requires medically trained staff to administer the tests.
The focus is now on trying to facilitate the HSC exams taking place in October, but some level of face-to-face teaching could occur in areas with few cases.
“There is a requirement for public exams to be sat in October, which obviously will take place. Between now and then we need to provide certainty as to what level of face-to-face will exist from 16 August,” the premier said.
Berejiklian said the approach “would not be uniform” and that those who needed face-to-face contact with teachers would be given priority.
A week ago the premier said that year 12 would return to face-to-face learning from 16 August, announcing an urgent vaccination drive for almost 21,000 year 12 students in the eight hotspot local government areas.
Beginning Monday, the NSW government plans to bus 3,000 students to Qudos Bank Arena for Pfizer shots. Year 12 students who live in the eight hotspot LGAs as well as students who attend schools in the eight LGAs will be eligible. This will include schools like The Kings School and other private schools that draw from across Sydney .
About 40,000 Pfizer vaccine doses, which have been approved for children as young as 12, have been redirected from rural NSW and are due to be administered at Homebush.
In regional NSW, where there is no lockdown, schools have remained open with masks recommended for all students in year 7 and above and for all staff.
The plan to reopen in Sydney has been met with deep concern from both the union representing public sector teachers, the NSW Teachers’ Federation, independent schools and Catholic schools.
The NSW Teachers’ Federation president, Angelo Gavrielatos, described the move as “premature”.
He said the return of year 12 meant there could be up to 600 students at some big schools and that schools in the Fairfield LGA, which is at the centre of the outbreak, had year 12 cohorts of 200 or 300 students.
“The trial HSC is not a requirement for the HSC credential. Yes, it does hold a special place in that it helps students prepare for exam conditions. But it could be done remotely,” he said.
Independent and Catholic sectors warned that the plan for 16 August return was sending anxiety levels of students and teachers “through the roof ” with one major concern being that students in those sectors often travel long distances to school.
There is also concern about low levels of vaccination among teachers.
The premier and her chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, have repeatedly stressed that residents of greater Sydney should reduce their mobility and only undertake essential shopping.
They have also been highlighting the number of young people in intensive care as a way of reinforcing that young people can also contract the Delta variant and become very ill.
Most HSC students are not vaccinated and, on Wednesday, Berejiklian acknowledged that even with her plan for mass vaccination of HSC students from the LGA hotspots, it would take a few weeks for the vaccines to be effective.
“There is no doubt that we won’t want children or students moving around those eight local government areas of concern in particular, which is why we are having them vaccinated from 9 August but obviously it takes a few weeks for the vaccine to take effect,” she said.
“I want to make it clear that we will not support any initiative that will worsen the situation or become a health risk.”
Berejiklian again made reference to the low levels of cases in some areas such as Shellharbour, Wollongong and the Central Coast, which are also subject to the greater Sydney lockdown.
The government is believed to be exploring a plan that will zone schools in Sydney so that year 12 students in lower risk areas can return to the classroom.
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“Our intention still is where that [face-to-face contact] is necessary that will occur but exactly how often that occurs and in what context is being determined this week,” Berejiklian said.
But she also said: “We need to make sure we adjust our policies according to what’s happening.
“I want to make that very clear and I also want to stress the following – all year 12 students will get their HSC. The path to get there may be different to what they hope it would be and we will make sure that where face-to-face is required that will be done safely and whether the settings will be different across different parts of greater Sydney,” she said.
The issue of returning year 12 to school – and the health advice around it – is set to be aired next week when a parliamentary committee calls evidence from the Department of Education and NSW Health.