Schools in Tayside and Fife will not implement controversial plans to chop the bottom off classroom doors to help stop the spread of Covid.
It emerged yesterday that the Scottish Government plans to spend £300,000 on ‘undercutting’ thousands of classroom doors to help increase air flow in schools.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the measure is “basic common sense” but one teaching union has branded the idea ‘frankly bizarre’.
We asked local authorities in Tayside and Fife whether they intended to implement the measure in their schools, where poor ventilation is found to be an issue.
What do the councils say?
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said there were “no plans” to amend classroom doors in the city. Angus Council also confirmed it had no intention to implement the measure.
A Fife Council spokeswoman also said there were no plans for this in schools in the kingdom, but added that ventilation levels are being monitored and “any appropriate building adaptations to increase ventilation” will be made if needed.
A Perth & Kinross Council spokesman said amending classroom doors was not something it was looking at, adding: “All teaching areas in all our schools (primary and secondary) have CO2 monitors.
WATCH: First Minister explains thinking behind cutting doors
“School staff have been given relevant briefing information regarding the monitors and have been advised to report any issues to the council’s property helpdesk.
“We undertook a major assessment exercise in 2020 to install additional fans, increase running times and carry out maintenance on windows to ensure ventilation improvements were in place before CO2 monitors were installed.
“In areas where CO2 monitors have identified issues, mitigation has been carried out. Additionally, we have taken steps to ensure a balanced heating and ventilation strategy is in place throughout the year.”
Plans are “frankly bizarre”
The plans to cut classroom doors were revealed in a letter to MSPs from education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville.
Reacting to the plans, Liberal Democrat education spokesman Willie Rennie labelled the move as “an insult” to teachers and pupils, whilst Michael Marra, Labour’s education spokesman, said it was an “absurd suggestion”.
Teaching unions have also criticised the plans and Mike Corbett, national official in Scotland for the teaching union NASUWT, said the idea was “frankly bizarre”.
