Newfoundland and Labrador is trending in the wrong direction, according to the opposition’s education critic.

Following the province’s announcement that in-classroom instruction will resume on Tuesday, January 25th, Barry Petten is criticizing government’s decision, arguing that hybrid-learning models, such as online learning, were not adequately explored.

He says he has heard from many concerned families about the reopening of schools, saying many are planning to take a “thanks, but no thanks” approach.

Petten is calling for government to push back the return date by at least a week, citing Memorial University’s return date of January 31st.

He says he appreciates the importance of socialization in the lives of children, but given the fact that the province is in the midst of dealing with the Omicron outbreak, it would be best to ere on the side of caution.

Regarding Dr. Janice Fitzgerald’s comments at Thursday’s briefing regarding accepting increasing cases in schools, Petten says it was “unfortunate”, but added that he would rather work with government towards a solution, rather than simply “throwing bricks” at one another.

He says the planned rapid test roll-out will help to reduce, but not eliminate the spread of COVID-19, stressing the importance of normalcy before a return to school, given the province’s Alert Level 4 status.

“There’s only one Alert Level above this”, says Petten, noting that online learning makes the most sense as case counts continue to remain high.