SecondParents and teachers accused the school authorities of not having enough air filter The purchase is to avoid closure of schools due to corona in the coming months. When asked whether the municipality is adequately prepared for fall and winter, Heinz-Peter Meidinger of FAS, chairman of the teachers’ association, said: “In short, absolutely not.”
Many countries are still using some of the grants because the municipalities have not cancelled them. It is not yet clear whether the reason is the shortage of funds in rural areas or “there are often signs that the effectiveness of air filters has not been fully tested or proven”. Sabrina Wetzel, a board member of the Federal Parents Council, said that many parents are “not satisfied.”
Some countries do not support the purchase of air filters
They will leave them with the impression that those responsible “have not taken enough measures to ensure classroom teaching when infectious diseases may rise.” Therefore, many people advocate air filters. Wetzel said these should be “absolutely bought, because politicians should now do everything possible to prevent restrictions again”-even if air filters are “not a panacea.”
The municipal government is responsible for the acquisition. However, they usually cannot purchase these equipment out of pocket. The cost of an air purifier that can be placed in a classroom without being installed on the ceiling is between 3,000 and 4,000 Euros. There are hundreds of rooms, and it enters the five or six digit range of a city.
Therefore, most federal states have established funding schemes. For example, in Bavaria, the third is already in operation, with sales of 190 million euros. In Bremen, 60% of classrooms are equipped with mobile air filters, with the goal of complete coverage. Berlin has funded nearly half of its classrooms.
Some federal states do not support the purchase of mobile air filters, including Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. It is said that the equipment in Saxony has been tested. “The result: costs are not proportional to benefits.” The state of Saxony-Anhalt has only recently begun to check which classrooms have insufficient ventilation to understand how much equipment the state needs. The exam should be completed by the end of August.
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Schleswig-Holstein pointed out that a plan will be drawn up with the federal government soon, and they will wait and see. This involves a total of 200 million euros. Negotiations with the federal states are still ongoing.
But in countries with financial support, the situation is also mixed. For example, in Nuremberg, all classrooms in grades one to six that are difficult or impossible to ventilate through windows are already equipped with mobile systems. The city is currently waiting for another 1,200 units to be delivered in early October.
The Federal Environment Agency changes its assessment
However, in Bamberg, a few kilometers away, the situation is quite different. A mobile air purifier has not been purchased there. Here, we are still in the process of determining the requirements. In Munich, the state capital, it was only when a large number of applications were received last week that it was decided to purchase 6,200 devices. The City Council’s resolution proposal stated that these were “triggered by the great interest of society and the public”.
Municipalities and states that have not taken action will usually justify themselves to the Federal Environment Agency. In an evaluation conducted in February, this explained that mobile air filters can only be “considered” as a “special situation” in rooms that should not actually be used as classrooms due to poor ventilation. However, in early July, the office changed its views. Mobile air filters are now classified as “sensitive” filters for all rooms that cannot be adequately ventilated. According to the Federal Environment Agency, this affects 15% to 25% of classrooms.
According to Trotec, which produces air filters, there are many bids. Many municipalities and city administrations have only just begun to deal with this problem. The summer vacation in some countries has ended.
The chairman of the Teachers Association Meidinger could not understand this. He said: “I’m surprised that some municipalities still don’t buy a filter and react so negatively. They have to expect to receive political bills in the fall. “If the number of people increases, they must go to school again at home.” They will be accused. They didn’t. Use all means so that the children can continue to go to school.”
