Ministries to train school officials to implement precautionary measures against COVID-19
With the new academic year drawing closer amid the ongoing COVID-19 situation, Qatar’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) and the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) have said they will work together to train members of the health and safety committees in schools to implement precautionary measures against COVID-19.
At a joint press conference yesterday, assistant undersecretary for Educational Affairs, Fawzia Al Khater said, "These committees are essential in the coming stage, as we require a great degree of awareness in order to control the pandemic.”
The press conference focused on the back-to-school plan and the required measures to ensure students and staff safety.
Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has issued directions along with the MoEHE on standards for maintaining safety in classrooms it was highlighted.
السيدة فوزية الخاطر الوكيل المساعد للشؤون التعليمية
— مؤسسة حمد الطبية (@HMC_Qatar) August 20, 2020
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Dr Yousef Al Maslamani, medical director at Hamad General Hospital said "HMC has set health guidelines that the educational staff should adopt in the event that any school student has symptoms of COVID-19.”
This includes limiting the number of students to 15 per class in addition to keeping a 1.5 meters distance between each student on all sides, the HMC official mentioned.
Wearing masks will not be mandatory for elementary school students, due to the difficulty of using them correctly.
"But the Ministry of Public Health will have no objection if any parent chooses his child to wear masks," Dr Al Maslamani said.
Students who contract the virus or show symptoms of COVID-19 must stay at home.
"If he interacts with an infected person at home, the student must stay in home quarantine for 14 days to avoid transmitting infection to other students and staff. If the student is in contact with contacts of infected persons he must go for home quarantine," Dr Al Maslamani said.
Additionally, there are guidelines for the administrative and teaching staff to prevent students from mixing with each other.
Regarding the remote learning mechanism, Al Khater said the approved mechanism will continue as in the previous academic year.
"We are trying to increase the strength of the online teaching platform in order to help more students benefit and allay the concerns of parents," she said.
"Students who seek exemption from attending classes must present a medical certificate. If the exemption is requested on the grounds of a first-degree relative having a chronic disease, his or her medical certificate and national address are required," she mentioned.
Speaking about examinations, Al Khater said they will be held on school premises.
The students will take their mid-term and end-term exams at schools. "From our earlier experience, we proved we could conduct exams safely," she said.
Earlier, MoEHE announced changes to its previous back-to-school plan for the 2020/21 academic year. The new plan will apply blended learning during the first semester of the next academic year.
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