Shaqiri: By the end of the week, there will be a decision on teaching in the second semester

Macedonia school students teacher professor
Teaching during a pandemic / Photo: EPA-EFE / GEORGI LICOVSKI

By the end of the week, at a session of the Government, a decision will be made whether the classes in the second half of February from February 1 will start with physical presence or online, and the Ministry of Education and Science will have meetings with health officials, announced today Minister of Education and Science Jeton Shaqiri.

- By the end of the week we will have meetings and before the beginning of the second half of the year we will have the position of the Commission for Infectious Diseases and the Crisis Staff. We have in mind the calls from UNICEF, which is for physical presence in teaching, and we all, and the teaching staff, are aware of the benefits of physical presence. And according to the data, in the first half of the year, we had a very small number of infected children. Our decision would have been easy if we had the same variant of the virus as in September and October. There is a new variant now, but that does not mean that the beginning of the second half of the year with a physical presence will increase the number of infected, said Shaqiri.

He pointed out that the kindergartens are constantly open, other sectors are functioning, and for him as a minister, the most important thing is that the children can not wait for the school year to start.

Shaqiri stressed that it is important to respect health measures and that protection and caution against covid-19 should not be thought only in schools, but also the behavior outside them.

- It does not mean that if there is no teaching, we respect the recommendations more than when we are teaching, said Shaqiri at a press conference during a visit to the State University in Tetovo.

Whatever the decision, he said, the MES will be in constant communication and will have daily meetings with the principals of primary and secondary schools if the teaching is physically present.

- By the end of the week there will be a final decision and whatever it is - physical education or online, the comments will be different. But all the benefits of both variants will be taken, said the Minister of Education and Science.

Due to the deteriorating epidemiological situation and the assessment that the country is at the top of the covid infection, the Government at a session on January 17 decided to postpone the second half of the year, which should start on February 20 instead of January 1.

The decision for the extended winter vacation for about 255 thousand students was made by the Government on the recommendation of the General Coordination Crisis Staff, and at the next session determined the number of teaching days in extraordinary circumstances with which the school year 2021/2022 will end in the regular term - June 10 2022.

Source: MIA

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