The Union of Professional Educators – Voice of the Workers on Thursday issued directives for church and state schools as it expressed shock at the COVID-19 “threat they (educators) are being subjected to”.

The union urged members not to accept changes to timetables and work schedules, not to collect money on behalf of the school, and not to use their own devices for work purposes.

Other directives urge members not to not attend meetings, appointments or case conferences held outside the school, not to stay with students sent to an isolation room because of fever and not to collect work from students reporting sick.

Members are also being asked not to engage in hybrid teaching or conduct observations of students who were not physically present in class. It ordered peripatetic teachers functioning as class teachers not to submit assessments related to the learning outcomes framework.

As of Wednesday, there were 28 COVID-19 cases - two children and 26 educators - in state schools, a week after they reopened in the midst of the pandemic.

There are 107 state schools, 7,000 educators and 33,000 students.