The Education Ministry has announced that schools in islands unaffected by COVID-19 will reopen on July 1.
Speaking at the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC)'s daily press conference on Monday night, Education Minister Dr. Aishath Ali said the decision was made according to the advice of the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and that only the schools in islands unaffected by COVID-19 will be opened. Students in grades above 1 will be attending school, said the minister.
The minister said the schools will be reopened in phases and that preschool classes will be resumed at a later time.
"We made the decision to re-open the schools because we feel it is of utmost importance. The students have been staying home since March, and thus have been deprived of several things. School is not just a place to study. The kids benefit in so many other ways from attending school. For some children, school is their only safe place," said the minister.
The minister noted that special guidelines have been prepared on re-opening the schools, and all requirements that need to be completed before opening schools, and the requirements that have to be followed when schools are reopened will be outlined in the guideline.
Although schools are scheduled to reopen on July 1, any teacher who displays any symptom of COVID-19 will be asked to stay home. The minister also requested guardians not to send any child with symptoms of the flu to school. The temperature of all students will be checked at the gate before they are allowed to enter the school, said Dr. Aishath Ali.
Students have to wear masks when at school. The number of students in each class will also be decreased. The school breakfast program will not be implemented at this time, said the ministry.
