Concerns over rising trend in school sit-ins

After cautiously reopening schools earlier this month, the Education Ministry now faces a new challenge to ensure their smooth operation as the number of sit-ins across the country is growing, with pupils protesting the government's response to the pandemic among other things, amid suspicions by authorities that many of the protests are politically motivated. 

Some 200 schools are currently under occupation and, although the number is a small fraction of the 14,000 schools across the country, the government is worried that the trend could pick up. 

The grievances being aired by the pupils range from concerns about overcrowding in classrooms or objections to the requirement for the mandatory use of face masks in schools to objections to the government's plans to purchase French-made fighter jets or calls for more teachers. 

Commenting on the matter, Education...