MUSCAT: More than 50,000 people took part in an online survey organised by the Ministry of Education to find a suitable alternative for classroom education in the wake of coronavirus outbreak in the country.

With less than three weeks left for the new academic year to begin, the Ministry sought the opinion of the public in finding a suitable solution amid Covid-19 crisis and 52,072 responses were received in 17 hours.

“A total of 52,072 people took part before the closure of the survey ‪on Sunday morning at 9:00 am‬,” Ministry said in a statement.

During the online poll, four options were asked to the parents regarding the methods that should be followed when the new academic year begins:

1: Going to school on a daily basis while reducing numbers in classrooms while taking the necessary health precautions.

2: Defining classes with educational priority for students to go to school and for the remaining classes to stay at home for online study.

3: Students staying home and studying online during the first semester and return to schools during the second semester in case the pandemic is contained.

4: A combination of students going to school for some days and study online on the other days.

Since March this year, schools across the country have been shut due to the coronavirus pandemic.