Harris: Colleges won't have to stay closed after Christmas break

Higher Education Minister Simon Harris says it is "absolutely the intention" to keep on-site learning in place after Christmas. Picture: Gavin Browne

The Higher Education Minister says that he does not foresee colleges remaining closed after the Christmas break in order to bring down the rate of Covid cases in those aged 19-24.

Simon Harris told the Irish Examiner that it was "absolutely the intention" to keep on-site learning in place.

"One of the real successes in what has been a very difficult year with stops and starts has been that we managed to safely get people back to on-site education to their primary school, secondary school, early years and of course third level. We've seen around 400,000 college students come back to campus and we've seen very few outbreaks actually attributed to college life and I would speak to the likes of Professor Phillip Nolan, head of the modelling group, on a regular basis in relation to this.

Essential

"Education is an essential service. It is absolutely the determination for governments to continue to keep our schools and our colleges open.

"For example, in colleges, we're giving out free antigen tests to our students. I saw yesterday Trinity College as one example, announcing that as a result of our €9m fund, they're making antigen tests freely available to students to take home. And that's happening right across the sector. Remember, we've set up pop-up vaccine clinics across our college campuses as well. We've made over a million facemasks available, we've given funding for ventilation. College reopening has gone very well. "

Mr Harris said that colleges "need to be viewed as the college campus is, like any town".

"What is safe to do in a town or a village should be safe in a college. If it's safe to have a pint with your vaccine pass in the bar across the road, it should be safe to use the college bar.

"If it's safe to play a game of football in your hometown, it should be safe to do that as part of the college team. If it is safe to go to a society or a hobby in your town or your village, it should be safe to do that on campus.

"So that's the way we're keeping it.... but of course within that, each institution needs to apply the appropriate measures."

Key plank

Mr Harris also said that the booster vaccine campaign was the key plank in fighting the Omicron wave of Covid-19. He said that people had begun to change their behaviour to ensure that they're not isolating for Christmas.

"Anecdotally, I see people already moderating their behaviour, or already making decisions. But remember, if you get Covid today, you're in isolation on your own for Christmas.

"Today, anyone who picks up Covid is in isolation. And that'd be on everyone's mind because people don't want to make Christmas in isolation. They want to be able to see their family. They want to be able to see their friends and they want to do it in a safe way.

"So I think while restrictions from time to time are necessary, and to guide us to keep us safe. I think we are moving into the space of having to live alongside this farce. It's not going to go away. 2021 taught us anything was that this virus is not just going to disappear. Sadly that's not the case."