Mask rule stays for school pupils

SECONDARY school pupils will be forced to continue wearing face coverings in class following pressure from teaching unions.

The controversial policy is to remain in place indefinitely despite signals from the Scottish Government that mandatory masks in the classroom would be scrapped.

Ministers yesterday said the move would help to provide time for more 12 to 15-yearolds to get vaccinated, and was based on advice from chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith to take a cautious approach.

Although the daily number of coronavirus cases has dropped significantly after hitting more than 6,000 a day, progress on driving down cases has slowed, with the figure rarely dropping below 2,000.

In a bid to push down infection rates, the Scottish Government will make youngsters keep wearing masks at their desks, while face coverings in communal areas for secondary pupils and staff, as well as primary staff, will also continue.

Reports last week that face coverings would not be needed after pupils returned from the October holidays sparked a backlash from unions. They said masks should be worn to allow more youngsters to get vaccinated. Larry Flanagan, general secretary of the EIS teaching union, said it had ‘argued for great caution in any easing of school mitigations, especially in light of continuing high levels of infection and the incomplete rollout of vaccinations for pupils’.

He said keeping masks will also allow more time ‘for ventilation challenges to be met’.

Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said the restrictions will be lifted ‘at the earliest possible time’.