AMMAN — School attendance for the
next scholastic semester depends on the epidemiological curve in Jordan,
according to the
Minister of Education Wajih Owais.
اضافة اعلان
There are almost two million
students in Jordan, and the Ministry of Education is concerned about the rapid
spread of the Omicron variant, Owais told
Jordan News, adding: "We
are afraid that this virus could infect students and teachers", which
would make even online learning or classroom learning impossible.
Owais said that the health system in
some countries almost collapsed because of the uncontrolled epidemiological
situation "and therefore it is our role to take wise decisions and protect
our children and teachers".
In an attempt to deal with the
situation, the ministry is contemplating a few possibilities: postponing the
start of the second semester for 20 days, returning to online learning, or teaching
in two shifts to reduce the number of students in schools, said Owais, adding
that these possibilities "were presented to the National Epidemiological
Committee " for assessment, depending on the situation, and a decision.
The ministry would rather not resort
to online learning, said the minister, adding that that is why "I believe
that if we postpone the start of the second semester for 20 days, the
epidemiological situation [will be clearer] and would start to recover. No one
knows what tomorrow has in store for us, so let us wait for February and see where
things stand."
According to Owais, the
National Epidemiological Committee includes specialists that evaluate the
best possibility, based on the epidemiological curve in Jordan.
"The committee then sends its
recommendations to the Cabinet, and the final decision will be theirs,"
said Owais, stressing that "the Ministry of Education is first and
foremost concerned with preserving the health of students and teachers".
On Sunday, the Ministry of Education
recommended postponing the start of the second semester for students in public,
private and
UNRWA schools, for grades from kindergarten to grade eleven, until February
20.
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