The Contractors Committee for Basic and Secondary Public Education said in a statement issued on Sunday that amid the confusion happening regarding the decision of the Education Ministry and the association of basic and secondary education for returning to blended learning on Monday May 17, “we ask them whether they have a clear plan for a safe return?”.

The statement said that the ministry announced a strike to prepare for a safe return and inoculate teachers, but unfortunately few percentage of teachers have received the vaccine, while others are waiting for their turn, and the majority has refrained from taking the AstraZenca vaccine.

The statement added that the basic education association also declared a strike due to the absence of a clear plan for safe return without taking vaccines. However, the association retreats its previous stances without any changes, and announces its readiness to return to physical education.

The committee asked both the ministry and the association: “Where is the safe return plan? Did all the teachers received their vaccine? Why this contradictory in statements and decisions?

The committee added that they want us to return to school amid tough economic and financial conditions, and in light of the increasing cost of attending school and the shortage in gasoline.

The committee decided to continue distance education starting from Monday 17, until determining the program for the end-of-year exams for all educational stages, and to attend school only on final exam, for the sake of teachers, students, and the school year.

The committee stressed the importance of completing the contractor teachers’ contract, and that managers implement the Ministry of Education’s decision to fully calculate the contract for the contractors.

The committee also sent a message to the Ministry of Education that teachers are not a field of experiments for its speeches, nor for its decisions and unexamined circulars, so it is unreasonable to oblige the contractor to attend school under threatening him not to sign with him a contract the next year. All of this under the pretext of saving an academic school year.

The committee have warned public school managers against questioning any contracting colleague, threatening him, or canceling his contractual hours; otherwise teachers will announce an open strike, and will not submit the final exam results.