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Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - In view of the increasing number of children in emergency care, Baden-Württemberg's teachers and educators' associations are sounding the alarm.

In many daycare centers and primary schools there is an occupancy rate of 60 to 70 percent, said a spokesman for the Association for Education and Upbringing (VBE).

“This is actually an opening through the back door.

This counteracts the protection against infection. "

The Verdi union criticized the fact that daycare centers were in fact open all the time due to the non-binding regulations - with full teams.

However, the Ministry of Education does not want to change the access conditions - and gives far lower numbers.

The federal and state governments agreed on Tuesday to extend the lockdown to contain the corona pandemic until February 14th.

However, Baden-Württemberg's state government is planning to gradually open daycare centers and primary schools from February 1, provided that the number of infections allows.

For daycare children and students in grades 1 to 7, however, there should be the possibility of emergency care beforehand, as before.

The prerequisites for this are rather vague.

This is exactly what is being criticized by the associations.

The VBE called for “clear edges and clear rules”: Systemically relevant professions must be defined.

Only parents who both worked in such professions and could prove that they were indispensable to the work were allowed to send their children to emergency care.

With the current regulations, one cannot speak of closed daycare centers.

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At Verdi, it is said that the educational specialists felt abandoned by the non-binding requirements and inadequate protection.

The Baden-Württemberg Education and Science Union also sees tightening of the admission requirements as a possible solution, as a spokesman explained - or the opening up of further groups with more staff, such as student teachers.

The Ministry of Education, on the other hand, is opposed to stricter regulations.

A spokeswoman emphasized that it is not only parents in systemically relevant professions that may need to have their children looked after.

The reason that parents do not have to provide evidence of their needs is due to the fact that the lead time to use emergency care is often very short.

The accusation that some parents are taking advantage of the offer “abusively” is inappropriate.

The proportion of pupils who are in emergency care has recently risen by about a third and is around 15 percent nationwide.

In the case of daycare children, it is between 25 and 50 percent, whereby the care rate can be significantly higher in individual cases.

“Stuttgarter Zeitung” and “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” had previously reported on these numbers.

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Many families are extremely stressed by the current situation and may no longer find their own solutions to care for their children, said the ministry spokeswoman.

The question arises as to whether opening daycare centers and primary schools would not be the more appropriate way.

Education Minister Susanne Eisenmann (CDU) has been campaigning for this for weeks.

According to a spokeswoman, the local council also endorses this path and gives other figures on occupancy: For a majority of the daycare centers and primary schools surveyed, this is 30 to 50 percent.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210123-99-139133 / 2

Orientation notes from the Ministry of Emergency Care in Schools

Orientation notes from the Ministry for Emergency Care at daycare centers