Jordan’s school year 2020/2021 is scheduled to begin early next September, following a five-months of disruption caused by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, announced Minister of Education Tayseer Nuaimi.
He said the upcoming school year will be exceptional and will resume as scheduled, however, the form of the educational process will be governed by the epidemiological situation in the country, adding that the ministry has a number of alternatives to deal with any sudden developments.
The Minister said there is daily coordination with the Ministry of Health to ensure students' safety and prepare an educational and health protocol to provide a safe environment for students.
Jordan has over 1.5 million students in about 4,000 government schools, and more than 500,000 studying in about 3,500 private schools.
The Jordanian government decided to suspend education in all institutions on March 14th to reduce the contain the pandemic.
Jordan started to ease restrictions but called on citizens to abide by social distancing measures. Authorities also urged citizens to wear masks and gloves in public places, warning that there will be fines imposed on violators.
Foreign flights are still suspended, while cinemas, wedding halls, and events locations remain closed, and the total lockdown is imposed from midnight until 8 AM.
On Sunday, Jordan's King Abdullah II said that his country had successfully brought the coronavirus "under control" and that it was time to focus on restarting the economy.
"But like every country in the world we have paid an economic price, and the time has come to focus... on the economic situation," a palace statement quoted him as saying.
Jordan recorded 1,198 confirmed COVID-19 cases with ten deaths and 1,013 recoveries, according to official figures.