Comparing the experience of European education systems in handling the Covid-19 pandemic is doubtless instructive (Masks in schools: several EU countries already enforce them in primaries, 3 January). Your article presents the salutary examples of countries such as France, which imposed a mask mandate on all pupils over 11 last November, and Belgium, which since December has required all pupils over six to be masked.
However, as an educational comparativist usually based in Japan, I read reports like this while inwardly screaming: “What about east Asia?” There has been some lurid coverage in the UK press of China’s draconian lockdowns. But we see very little discussion of the very different cases of Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, which have managed the pandemic far more effectively than their western counterparts, and with far less disruption to schooling.
This is especially so in Japan, where all primary and secondary pupils have worn masks at school (including in the classroom) since the onset of the pandemic. During that time, Japanese pupils have missed a total of just four to five weeks of face-to-face teaching.
Edward Vickers
Kyushu University, Japan; visiting professor, UCL Institute of Education
• In light of the reintroduction of face coverings to secondary school classrooms this week, it is of course true to say teenagers are resilient, demonstrating endless adaptability. But spare a thought for deaf schoolchildren who can’t lip-read or understand facial expressions when face masks are being worn.
They have faced challenge upon challenge since the start of the pandemic, isolating during everyday life, facing cancelled exams and enduring online lessons without subtitles. Thousands of deaf secondary-aged pupils will be filled with a sense of dread about the reintroduction of face coverings in class as they return to school.
Public health should always be prioritised, but deaf children’s inclusion in society matters too. We cannot continue to see deaf children falling behind their classmates and their mental health suffering where a few simple adjustments and more sensitivity from the public would make all the difference.
Jo Campion
Deputy director of advocacy, National Deaf Children’s Society
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