* Any violation of Covid-19 measures in schools will be dealt with strictly
* School staff not taking vaccine need to show negative certificate every week l Parents urged to strictly follow Covid-19 measures outside school
Around 80% of teachers and administrative staff in schools have received the Covid-19 vaccine so far, a senior official of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has said.
Speaking to Qatar TV on Monday, Mohamed al-Bishri, adviser to HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education, stressed that the ministry is constantly monitoring Covid-19 situation and maintains close co-ordination with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in this regard, giving top priority to the protection of students and all those working at the MoEHE.
He said the ministry does not oblige any school staff member to take the Covid-19 vaccine, but those not getting inoculated are required to submit a Covid-19 certificate on a weekly basis.
The official also informed that lists of secondary school students eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine have been prepared and submitted to the MoPH for vaccination.
Al-Bishri said the decision to lower the attendance rate at schools to 30% of their capacity was based on the latest Covid-19 indicators within society. The school environment is an integral part of society, he noted, adding that the decision was meant mainly to further enhance the protection of all students as well as teachers and other employees at schools.
Further, he said the decision is in line with the already applicable precautionary and preventive measures, as the school environment has proven to be a very safe place for all due to the stringent protocols followed by the MoEHE in co-operation with the MoPH.
The official said the ministry would continue to amend its decisions depending on the situation as the fight against Covid-19 continued. At the same time, he urged parents to be careful and strictly follow the precautionary and preventive measures outside the school and avoid sending their children to classes whenever they displayed any mild symptoms, indicating that their immunity was weakened and they could become more vulnerable to infection.
Al-Bishri stressed that the MoEHE is very serious about implementing the stringent health protocols in both private and government schools and any violation will be dealt with strictly.
Regarding the schedule of the upcoming examinations, he said the issue is under study and an appropriate decision would be taken based on the latest updates. This ministry will make an announcement accordingly.
The official said the system currently in place would have a positive impact on children’s educational development as students could still attend classes once or twice a week under the revised formula. He said some parents had complained that the remote learning approach alone would not be enough and school attendance was important for their children’s development. Some even felt that children could be hard to control while staying at home and would not benefit much from the remote learning lessons, in addition to gaining weight.
