Photo credit: Kuanish Reymbaev
<h3>This confusion is likely influenced by a sense of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-24/wa-teachers-urge-parents-to-keep-children-home-term-two/12180836">mixed messages</a> from <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-its-safe-for-kids-to-go-back-to-school-137064">different approaches</a> around the country.</h3>
<p>For example, term 2 began this week in <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/04/26/coronavirus-schools-open-nsw/">New South Wales</a>. From week 3, children in government schools have been allocated a day per week when they should learn on site. In <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-28/coronavirus-wa-school-closure-ends-but-parents-face-dilemma/12190924">Western Australia</a>, parents have been asked to decide if their children will return to the classroom, learn online from home or learn from home with hard copy materials. The situation in both states is to be reviewed around week 3.</p>
<p>In contrast, all <a href="https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/Pages/coronavirus-advice-schools.aspx">Victorian</a> students who can learn from home must do so. The <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-28/coronavirus-canberra-school-students-begin-first-day-of-term-two/12191774">ACT</a> is also proceeding with online learning for all children who can be supervised at home.</p>
<h2>Human rights relevant to schooling</h2>
<p>Australia lacks a comprehensive human rights framework, although human rights laws have been passed in the <a href="https://hrc.act.gov.au/humanrights/">ACT</a>, <a href="https://www.humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/human-rights/the-charter">Victoria</a> and <a href="https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2019-005">Queensland</a>. Little commentary to date has considered the return to school in a human rights context.</p>
<p>Human rights are interconnected values. Many are relevant to this issue and the <a href="http://www.broadagenda.com.au/home/h/?mc_cid=2453ee6ee5&;mc_eid=b4474e7b50">pandemic</a> more <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/04/1062632">broadly</a>.</p>
<p>Under international law, all people have the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx">health</a>. The right to health extends beyond access to health care. Importantly in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, it <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Factsheet31.pdf">includes</a> a right to the prevention, treatment and control of disease.</p>
<p>All people, and particularly children, also have a right to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx">education</a>. This right is described as essential for people to <a href="https://www.right-to-education.org/sites/right-to-education.org/files/resource-attachments/CESCR_General_Comment_13_en.pdf">participate effectively</a> in a free society. Countries are obliged to protect the right by ensuring, at a minimum, free and compulsory primary education and a system of schools to provide equitable access to education at each level.</p>
<p>International law also confirms the right of all people not only to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx">work</a>, but to enjoy just and favourable conditions of work. This includes a right to <a href="https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au/coronavirus-and-australian-workplace-laws/health-and-safety-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus">safe and healthy</a> working conditions.</p>
<h2>Human rights issues arising from a return to the classroom</h2>
<p>How can we balance human rights implications of a return to classroom learning, when rights may come into tension with each other?</p>
<p>Most human rights can be constrained, although not to the point where their essence is denied. <a href="https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/1984/07/Siracusa-principles-ICCPR-legal-submission-1985-eng.pdf">Limitations</a> on rights must be necessary in response to a pressing public or social need. They must also pursue a legitimate aim and be proportionate to that aim.</p>
<p>When we consider rights in tension at this time, it is clear a right to health must be the primary focus. A weakening of protective measures may heighten the risk of a <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30845-X/fulltext">second wave </a> of the virus.</p>
<p>A return to classroom learning should be made in consideration of the rights of both staff and children to <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/crc.aspx">enjoy the highest attainable standard of health</a>. Australian parents and school staff are being encouraged to view schools as <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-reasons-its-safe-for-kids-to-go-back-to-school-137064">safe environments</a>.</p>
<p>However, the advice for those who are <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/what-you-need-to-know-about-coronavirus-covid-19#who-is-most-at-risk">at risk</a> continues to be to stay at home. While some jurisdictions are moving to require in-person attendance, little has been said about how at-risk staff and students are to be protected at school or supported to continue in isolation.</p>
<p>Aspects of a return to school also pose mental health risks. Some students who require set daily routines may become anxious when required to attend only <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/21/nsw-students-to-return-to-school-one-day-a-week-from-mid-may">one day</a> per week. Others, especially high school students in their final year, should perhaps be <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/year-12-kindy-should-get-priority-when-school-goes-back-teachers-federation-20200409-p54inb.html">prioritised</a> to return as a cohort in order to complete their education.</p>
<p>For teachers, there are significant <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/life/teachers-working-through-coronavirus-pandemic-need-kindness/12075544">workload implications</a> in managing both in-class and online cohorts of students. The right of teachers to enjoy <a href="https://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/HRC/35/21">good mental health</a> may also be compromised by a sense of risk in the return to classroom teaching. The potential for stress-related illnesses is obvious among <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/nyregion/coronavirus-homeschooling-parents.html?action=click&;module=Top%20Stories&;pgtype=Homepage&;fbclid=IwAR1qthPAwVWGHOcRU5uTALwidLRPjtDzPcAOTt8lfDDz6o3f13-ahXiAZrk">parents</a>, many of whom have found learning from home taxing on their mental health.</p>
<p>There is a widespread desire to support the right of students to education. Schools in Australia have mostly remained open throughout the peak of the crisis for children of essential workers and children who are safer at school than at home. This approach was a measured means of balancing rights to health and education and could be maintained for a longer period across the country.</p>
<p>It has been argued <a href="https://theconversation.com/nsw-staggered-return-to-school-some-students-may-need-in-class-time-more-than-others-136837">here</a> that the “staggered” return to school in some states ought to prioritise the needs of children at certain key stages of learning.</p>
<p>We add that the most vulnerable children should also be prioritised. For example, greater equity in access to education at this time may call for special arrangements to include students with <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html">disabilities</a>, chronic illnesses or mental health conditions. Students who lack at-home access to online learning could also be prioritised in a return to the classroom.</p>
<p>The physical environment in schools is a further complicating factor, particularly in terms of teachers’ rights to safe conditions of work. The <a href="https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-crisis-prime-minister-scott-morrison-says-social-distancing-measures-will-not-be-required-in-classrooms-when-schools-return-ng-b881529393z">prime minister</a> is adamant schools are exempt from social-distancing requirements. Yet those states returning students to the classroom are implicitly undermining that message by setting maximum numbers and requiring staggered break times and other measures.</p>
<p>Many teachers feel confused and stressed about how they can do their work <a href="https://www.nswtf.org.au/pages/covid-19-virus.html">safely</a>. This is unsurprising, given some <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-28/victoria-coronavirus-cases-rise-by-two-as-massive-testing-begins/12190944">states</a> and other <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52291326">countries</a> are taking much more cautious approaches to the health and safety of school staff.</p>
<h2>No magic right answer</h2>
<p>The balancing process between human rights values at this time is highly complex and beyond what we can hope to resolve in this article. And human rights analyses cannot deliver us a simple “right” answer as to how the return to classroom learning should be managed.</p>
<p>What human rights give us is another frame through which to consider these fundamental challenges. There are obvious economic and educational imperatives to prompt a return to classroom learning. Our national debate could be richer and more inclusive if it also included human rights claims.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137251/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p>
<h6><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/amy-maguire-129609">Amy Maguire</a>, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/donna-mcnamara-1049958">Donna McNamara</a>, Lecturer in Law, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle.</a></em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/sending-children-back-to-school-during-coronavirus-has-human-rights-implications-137251">original article</a>.</h6>

A study investigating the realities of out-of-field teachers is seeking participants for groundbreaking research.
The resources are designed to support teachers to make sure all students are engaged in…
Tic disorders are far more common than many people realise, and are often misrepresented in…
The school library has long been a place of discovery, reflection, and learning. But as…
Is your school an inclusive community that empowers students to recognise bullying and to stand…
Performance indicators for the education and VET sectors have just been released with some encouraging…
This website uses cookies.