The Federal Education Minister has lashed out at Victoria, urging parents to ignore that state’s Premier and instead follow medical experts and send their children back to school.
Key points:
- Victoria has about 97 per cent of students learning via online classes
- The Federal Government wants face-to-face learning to resume in all public schools by June
- Victoria says its health advice, not the Federal Government, will determine when pupils return
Dan Tehan accused Daniel Andrews of taking a “sledgehammer” to the state’s education sector as tension bubbles over between the state and federal governments.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants all public schools to return to face-to-face learning by June, but Victoria has insisted it would make its own decisions about when to encourage parents to send children back to classrooms.
“The question to Daniel Andrews, sure, take a sledgehammer to defeating coronavirus, but why are you taking a sledgehammer also to the state education system?” Mr Tehan told Insiders.
The Education Minister’s comments came an hour before Victoria announced the closure of a Melbourne school because of a coronavirus outbreak.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said Meadowglen Primary School would be closed for c