2 mls per child

A reader writes in:

A great deal has been made of the return to school and how safe it is being made for the children. The Ministry of Education has made statements about sending hand sanitiser out to schools, and to be fair, they have done so. My wife teaches 24x Year 2 children (6 year olds) and attached is a photo of what her school received, 1 per class. It is a 60ml container (the normal pocket/purse containers are 50ml). Some classes are up to 30 children, and because the maths is easy I’ll point out that is 2ml per child – once.

My wife has been told that once this runs out she can just buy some herself. Generously they’ve said that this can be from the class budget, but that means instead of maths, art or other learning based resources that might otherwise have come out of that budget.

It is also disappointing to see that they have provided a hand sanitiser that is made in Taiwan when there is definitely locally made product available – in sufficient quantities. Although admittedly the alcohol types of sanitiser are generally recognised to be more effective, there are also very good locally made water based alternates available which would be a far more suitable option – particularly for the junior classes. It is a risk vs safety balancing act.

Once again I think we are seeing a Government department broadcasting it’s actions so that it looks like it is doing the right thing but the reality is completely lacking substance.

A good example of reality not matching the hype.