Wyant says he regrets nothing about Saskatchewan school reopening plan

Saskatchewan Education Minister Gord Wyant says he regrets nothing about the province's back-to-school plan, despite the government facing sustained criticism in recent weeks about its approach to reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wyant gave a simple response when asked in a news conference Wednesday if he regretted anything about the plan, which lets school divisions decide when and if to adopt such measures as mandatory masking. 

"No," Wyant said.

"I think we have one of the best school opening plans in the country and I think it's a mistake to think that this planning has just happened over the last couple of weeks."

Wyant said that since classes were suspended last March, "there's been a dedicated effort to make sure that we have a good back-to-school plan."

'I think this is the best back-to-school plan in the country': Education Minister Gordon Wyant

4 years ago

Duration 2:09

Education Minister Gordon Wyant says he is very comfortable with the province's school plan.

The ministry released guidelines for school reopening on June 18 and followed that up with its formal Safe Schools Plan on Aug. 4. The Saskatchewan NDP attacked that plan as not being significantly different from the guidelines and for not including system-wide requirements such as masking. 

• No mandatory masks or reduced class sizes planned when Sask. students return to schools in Sept.

• Sask. gov't leaving it up to school boards to decide on masking

On Wednesday, Wyant reiterated his support for leaving such decisions up to individual school boards, based on the advice of chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.

"They're most efficient in determining what the needs of their individual schools are," Wyant said. "Certainly every school division is different and every school is different and every classroom is different."

School boards released their division-wide general plans on Aug. 5. Individual schools were expected to release their operational plans on Wednesday or the following days. 

• Sask. school-specific reopening plans outline assigned entrances, cohorting of students

Minister lauds level-based approach

Wyant said he was particularly proud of the four levels of operation outlined for schools in the provincial plan. 

Level 1 would have had schools reopen under conditions "as close to normal as possible, with additional health measures and precautions." 

Most schools have opted to open under Level 2. On Aug. 11, Shahab and the province further defined Level 2 as requiring students in Grades 4 to 12 to wear masks in hallways, buses and other high-traffic areas. Masks might also be required for students in Grades 9 to 12 where physical distancing is not possible. 

The province added at the time that factors such as location, structure and population would be considered in defining Level 3 and that school boards could consider alternating days for high school students. 

Level 4 would see schools transition to mandatory remote learning.

"I think we have a good set of levels in terms of how you move from one level to another," Wyant said Wednesday. "Letting school divisions make the determination as to how they move between levels based on advice from public health, I think, is an excellent tool in terms of ensuring that our students are safe."