China’s Ministry of Education once again said yesterday (Feb 28) that time has not come to announce a return date for schools, though they hinted on what a return might look like.
In a directive issued yesterday, the ministry said that schools should stagger their opening by grade (错时错峰开学). This appears to be a method for minimizing the risk of an outbreak at any one school.
They also said a coordinated approach should be used so that all grades in each province/city start at the same time. The maneuver appears to be addressing the likely accusations of unfair treatment in the highly competitive world of school academics.
So far to our knowledge, only one province on the mainland has announced a formal opening date for schools: Guizhou Province announced last week that high school seniors and middle school 9th graders will begin school on March 16, with the start dates for the remaining grades to be determined later.
While no rationale was offered for why those grades would start first, those are two critical grades in the Chinese education system for the crucial high school and college entrance examinations, and thus may be given top priority.
In the meantime, the ministry urged schools to continue to strengthen their online teaching approaches.
In regards to new start dates, the ministry once again was vague, stating “In principle, schools will not open until the outbreak has been basically controlled”. (原则上疫情没有得到基本控制前不开学). No specific definition of what “basically controlled” means was offered.
However, they did say that schools will not be given the green light to open until basic prevention and control methods have been established. “Unless the health security of all members of the school community can be effectively guaranteed, schools will not be allowed to open.”
The directive also pointed out that all offline afterschool training organizations also need approval from the city or provincial education departments before re-opening.
We’ll keep you updated each and every time we hear anything.
Photo: unsplash
