Education settings such as schools and universities should be classed as “essential infrastructure” to ensure they can stay open during national emergencies, Conservative former Cabinet minister Esther McVey told the Commons.
The Tory MP and GB News presenter said that closures during the pandemic had been a “disaster”.
She was speaking in the Commons as MPs put questions to education ministers.
In response, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan noted schools stayed open during the pandemic to continue teaching certain children in person, and said the Government always seeks to minimise disruption to education in emergency situations.
Schools in England were closed to most pupils for extended periods as part of the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.
Ms McVey, asking about absent pupils, told the Commons: “Shutting schools during Covid lockdown was a disaster for children and their mental health, and has led to an explosion in severely absent rates.
“Will (the Education Secretary) make sure this cannot happen again by classifying all education settings, including schools, colleges and universities as essential infrastructure to ensure they remain open during national emergencies?”
