Back-to-School Day for Students, One Year Later

Today was back-to-school day for a handful of students who have not seen the inside of a classroom since schools were closed in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  As we reported a few weeks ago, the Ministry of Education, following a green light from Cabinet, is proceeding with a gradual return to face-to-face instructions.  Since the announcement was made on March twenty-fourth, two hundred and eleven primary and secondary schools have signed up to be part of the phased-in return.  It’s a process, nonetheless, that requires each school to be visited by their respective District Education Center to make sure that they are ready and prepared for the safe return of students and teachers.  Sixty-one schools had initially applied to reopen today, but only fifty-five had been visited by the D.E.C.   The remaining six schools will resume face-to-face learning on May tenth.  Realizing that schools will employ individual approaches, the ministry says that schedules will differ and students will have less hours inside the classroom.  Perhaps equally as important are the existing economic constraints.  With that in mind, M.O.E. has asked all managements and administrations not to burden students with unnecessary demands.  The return of face-to-face instructions in April or May is optional for schools and teachers are encouraged to be vaccinated as soon as possible, ahead of the start of the new academic year.