VANCOUVER -- Big differences in COVID-19 plans between B.C. school districts mean that some students are getting as much as three times the in-class instruction, according to a group of concerned parents pushing for students to spend more time, not less, in schools during the pandemic.

The students who are in class much less aren’t getting the same learning opportunities — and may even be less safe than others, said Vancouver parent Dr. Mary Kestler, who is also an infectious disease specialist.

“My kids are really bored. They are isolated all day. They’re spending little time in remote instruction and a lot of time surfing the internet,” Dr. Kestler told CTV News.

“Schools aren’t super spreaders,” Kestler said, acknowledging some B.C. schools have been closed as outbreaks are declared, but saying that those are comparatively rare. “Schools may be one of the safest places, because there’s a safety plan and it’s actually used.”

Instead, she said students are "getting really a tiny fraction of class time, about a third of what they’re supposed to receive under the School Act."

She and three other parents surveyed several school districts to find most students in grades 8 and 9, in the Burnaby, North Vancouver and Surrey school districts, are getting full time, in-class instruction.

In Vancouver, most students in those grades students are getting just 8.75 hours per week of in class instruction.

In grades 10 to 12, the comparison is more complicated, as school boards offer figures as a mix of in-person and remote learning. In Burnaby, most students get 17.75 hours a week, in North Vancouver, most students get 18.7 hours a week, and in Surrey, most students get 22.7 hours a week.

By comparison, in Vancouver, the students are getting 8.75 hours a week in class, they found.

“I’m worried about the loneliness, the anxiety, the lack of structure,” said another parent, Niki Boyd. “I’m worried they’re not able to learn what they should be learning.”

Each school district had to submit a plan to the B.C. Ministry of Education prior to opening for the school year.

In Vancouver, the district’s larger secondary schools and diversity of courses — while still keeping students in smaller cohorts — forced officials to have a greater proportion of the day on flex time, said Vancouver School Board Associate Supt. Pedro da Silva.

“It allowed flexibility in school to ensure students were in an environment where they were safe and have all of their options,” he said.

“If we lost the flex time, we would lose the ability to offer greater choice for our students, all the courses in our system would have to follow the same pattern, and that would impact many of our classes."

The parents planned to address a committee of Vancouver school trustees on Wednesday.

At Prince of Wales Secondary School, students wore masks with pride — Grade 9 student Wes Valarao showed off that she carried two.

“We’re all on board with wearing masks, and being protected,” she said.

Grade 12 student Hunter Sowle said he was in class for just one hour and 45 minutes on Wednesday. It was a longer chemistry class, with the plan that each student can finish an entire course in just 10 weeks. The idea is so that if there is disruption to the school schedule, it will disrupt fewer classes.

“In school we have social distancing, places where you can sanitize your hands,” he said. “It’s pretty reasonable.”