Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Ali has stated the administration plans to establish facilities to teach students at home, in case schools need to be closed for an extended period of time.
Speaking at the daily press briefing held at National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC), the education minister noted several parents have expressed concerns that the syllabus cannot be covered due to the extended closure of schools following the COVID-19 pandemic. The minister said Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) and education emergency plans have been formulated for each alert level regarding COVID-19, noting plans have been set to establish facilities to teach students at home if schools needs to be closed for an extended period of time. She said the ministry will follow the procedures set in the most developed countries, when facilitating students to learn from home.
The education minister added the current focus is to allow students to continue learning through facilities such as broadcast programmes and google classes. The minister also said discussions are underway with relevant authorities to allow students which do not have television or internet access to study from home. In this regard, she said such students will be taught through means such as sending lessons to their homes, providing telephone lessons or even teaching them at school after maintaining proper distances.
Furthermore, the education minister urged parents to closely monitor how students are learning from home. She also urged parents to ensure the psychological well-being of the students, as well as their physical well-being.
The minister remarked precautionary measures will be imposed in schools in case the government decides to reopen schools based on the situation of COVID-19 in Maldives.