The Ministry of Education and Higher Education on Thursday announced that all public and private schools in Qatar will start the 2020/2021 academic year in three stages starting from September 1.
*First stage: It will be for three days from September 1 to 3. On these days, the attendance will not exceed one-third of the students' total strength in the school.
The educational affairs and special education departments have sent guidelines for government schools including specialised schools, those in the field of special education (Audio Education Complex, Al Heedaya schools, and kindergarten) and private schools and kindergartens with suggested models on how students can attend.
*Second stage: It will last two weeks, from September 6 to 17 for integrated education, where the attendance and occupancy rate in all public and private schools and kindergartens will not exceed 50% of the number of students.
The students' attendance will alternate during the two weeks in two groups. Half of the students (50%) will attend classes in the first week in school. They will receive their education remotely in the following week.
The other half of students will attend in the second week of the start of the academic year after they receive their education remotely in the first week.
*Third stage: Begins on September 20 for all students in public and private schools and kindergartens; 100% of students in schools and kindergartens start attending classes in schools.
The resumption of classes in phases will be done while continuing to take precautionary measures in accordance with the requirements of the health and safety department in the education ministry, in co-ordination with the Ministry of Public Health.
Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Fawzia al-Khater said the gradual return in three stages aims to provide lessons to students in addition to raising the awareness of the students, their parents and academic and administrative staff in government schools with precautionary measures and how to achieve social distancing to maintain the health of students and the staff , without affecting the educational attainment of these students.
Assistant Undersecretary for Private Schools Affairs at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Omar al-Nama said that the gradual return through the three phases will allow private schools and kindergartens to receive students after a break and educate them about the precautionary procedures followed in the classrooms and school buildings, in addition to introducing new students to remote learning programmes.
Al-Khater and al-Nama stressed the importance of the first stage in terms of raising awareness about the mechanisms of attendance during the next two weeks after the opening of schools.
Al-Khater also said that the approved plan for the gradual reopening of government schools included a proposal to alternate attendance for students and a quota for study materials for different stages, and also included the school schedule for classes during the first and second school hours of the primary, preparatory and secondary stages.
School timings are from 7.15am to 12.30pm, with six classes of 45 minutes each per day , along with five minute breaks between classes.
The school day also includes a 25-minute break, taking into account the system of the school schedule so that there are three different times for school break to reduce the number of students during any break.
As for kindergarten, the usual daily schedule is applied, with working hours starting from 7.10 am to 12 noon.
Al-Nama said the Ministry has included an appendix of the requirements that private schools and kindergartens must adhere to before the start of the school year, such as having a permanent nurse and providing isolation rooms in the event of a student or school staff showing any symptoms, in addition to providing sufficient sterilisers on a daily basis and distributing them to all facilities and classrooms.
He also stressed that at the start of the academic year on September 1, no one will be allowed to enter the school buildings and kindergartens without agreeing to follow the precautionary requirements manual issued by the Ministry's Department of Health and Safety.
