Ministry of Education announced that schools in Male' City will resume teaching for grades seven and eight on August 16.

After a long period of closure since March 12 to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Maldives, the ministry reopened all grades in schools across the country, except in the capital area, on July 1, with precautionary measures approved by Health Protection Agency (HPA).

Presently, only grades nine to 12 are being taught at schools in Male' City, with online lessons provided for lower grades.

In a press release this week, the education ministry stated that education for Key Stage 3 will resume in August, based on the counsel of HPA.

In order to maintain social distancing in school settings, the number of students in classrooms has been reduced from approximately 32 to 16. Schools have also adopted several other safety measures, such as taking temperatures of students and staff prior to entry, wearing face masks at all times, and regular cleaning and disinfection protocols.

Moreover, only students in grade nine onwards are attending school in islands placed under monitoring, with online lessons for other grades.

Meanwhile, HPA noted last Wednesday that spread of COVID-19 has not been detected within schools yet.

The current schooling systems in Maldives function in three different ways. In the first arrangement, schools that conducted single sessions pre-COVID-19 are continuing with the same arrangement, within HPA's guidelines.

In the second arrangement, the school day is divided into two sessions, while the third arrangement ensures maximum physical distancing by conducting classes for two batches of students every other day. Most schools in the Greater Male' region are presently following the third arrangement.

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