MUSCAT: As schools across the country reopens in November, many parents have concerns in sending their kids to school in the wake of coronavirus pandemic. 

From concerns about class sizes to contracting Covid-19, some parents are confused about sending their children back to school. 

However, on Thursday, Her Excellency Dr. Madiha Ahmed Al Shaibani, Minister of Education (MOE), said the student can choose between direct education or online classes. “In the event that the parent does not want his child to attend the school, the Ministry has set a protocol and special conditions for cases that allows them to study only remotely (online),” the Minister said. 

School hour system
As part of the Covid-19 health protocol, MOE has adopted a school hour system and classified schools into three categories.

“The first category are schools that have 16 students per class and they will attend school daily. The second category are schools with a density of 4 hours per day, with half the number of students per week. The third category are high density schools. The study period will be 5 working hours per day, one third of its capacity for these schools,” Dr. Madiha explained. 

“If we need to shut down the schools, we will go for the distance learning and TV channels. The Ministry is keen to provide education for students who live in places where internet services may not be available through TV channels,” Dr. Madiha said. 

The Minister also said that MOE has introduced strict health protocol for school buses.  “If the school bus has a capacity of 30 students, it will carry 50% of its capacity to achieve the required physical distancing between students inside the bus,” she added.