Education Ministry confirms readiness for safe return to school

TDT | Manama

The Ministry of Education announced yesterday that it has put in place the necessary measures for a safe return to school in the upcoming academic year 2020/2021, in implementation of the directives of the Coordination Committee, headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

The guidelines adhere to all precautionary measures set in dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19), in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Health and the Ministry of Health. The Education Ministry affirmed that a team had published an electronic survey for parents to determine their preferred option for the education of their children.

About 112,000 respondents participated, with parents expressing their interest in classes for no more than two days a week, while also having a required number of hours for remote learning. Classes must be divided into small groups that do not exceed 50 per cent of the classroom’s capacity, and social distancing must be taken into account.

Other parents expressed their desire for complete remote learning with virtual classes through all kinds of media. The Education Ministry revealed that it has formulated an integrated guide that contains all health protocols and procedures for a return to classes. These are to be distributed to all educational institutions, including universities, public and private schools, as well as kindergartens.

These guides include precautionary measures before entering the school premises, during the school day, and instructions in dealing with cases. Schools must also form a team that will be responsible for organising and implementing these health measures, setting controls for receiving students with temperature checks, and controlling the operations of transportation services.

Within the classroom, a distance of no less than two meters between students’ chairs must be maintained. A response strategy must also be developed for when a suspected or confirmed case is identified. These include communicating with the parent or guardian, isolating the student in a designated place within the school, notifying health authorities, and identifying contacts;

in addition to continuous disinfection and sterilisation of all facilities and continuous communication with the ministry’s call center, which links schools with the relevant departments of the ministry. The return of public schools’ educational and administrative bodies will be on September 6, while the students will return on September 16. The return of students in private schools and higher education institutions will be concurrent in the same month, taking into account the precautionary measures.