Doha: Adviser to the Minister of Education and Higher Education, Mohamad Al Bashri, has said that recorded COVID-19 infections are less than one percent in schools, therefore there is no need to completely switch to online only mode of teaching.
Speaking in a Qatar TV programme, Al Bashri said that as per protocol in place five percent infection rate is dangerous where the schools should be closed.
“A few COVID-19 cases were detected in schools because of relaxation in following preventive and precautionary measures implemented by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health,” said Al Bashri.
Meanwhile, the MoEHE has taken action against some schools for not complying with COVID-19 measures and protocols, said a statement issued yesterday.
The Ministry also shutdown several schools temporally after positive cases of COVID-19 were detected among students and teachers. The Ministry has said in the statement that it recently intensified its regular and surprise inspections in public and private schools operating across the country to ensure a healthy and safe school environment for students, teachers and administrative staff.
Al Bashri said that running schools smoothly in the first phase is the best example that the protocol applied in schools is safe and appropriate.
“The schools environment is very safe as per MoPH figures. There are joint inspection teams from MoEHE and MoPH and separate teams of MoEHE to monitor COVID-19 protocols implementation. Screenings are being conducted for students, teaching and administrative staff on daily basis,” said Al Bashri.
He said the infection rate in schools is very little less than one percent and the problem of infection is out of schools.“We recommend parents and guardians to adhere strictly to the measures. Relaxations in following the measures were noticed in some schools where strict actions were taken against erring government and private schools to avoid repetition of this mistake,” said Al Bashri.
He said Qatar succeeded running the schools smoothly where many countries failed in doing so.“Since the resumption of schools we did not suspend in-person classes. The examinations were held safely. The situation is under control because of implementation of protocol,” said Al Bashri.
He said the inspection teams also recorded cases of high temperature and flue among students in schools however, parents should not send such students to schools. “The joint committee between two ministries will meet ahead of midterm examinations to finalize that how the examinations will be held based on the health indicators,” said Al Bashri.
According to Ministry’s statement, the non-complying schools have been referred for internal investigations to be conducted by the Ministry. Penalties were imposed on a number of schools as per violations.
Moreover, several schools were temporarily shutdown as a result of COVID-19 cases were detected among students and teachers. Students in these schools moved to the distance learning format during the temporary closure.
The Ministry referred the said schools for internal investigations in order to identify the causes and sources of the infection, and to impose appropriate administrative penalties against them.
The Ministry is closely cooperating with the Ministry of Public Health to complete the stages of vaccination of educational staff in all Qatari schools, who have the highest priority in vaccination now, and it also called on everyone to receive the vaccination, which is the main pillar in the prevention and protection from coronavirus.
Based on the approved protocol of the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Education and Higher Education called on its cadres who will receive the vaccine to continue to adhere to the precautionary measures, especially wearing a mask and applying social distancing.
The Ministry also urged community members, parents, students, teachers and administrative staff in particular, to remain committed to the precautionary measures to mitigate the risks of the coronavirus and stay safe.
