Crisis Staff: The youngest return to school, combined classes for higher grade pupils
Epidemiologist Dr Darija Kisić Tepavčević stated that the youngest will return to school, while the older will combine online classes with attending school
Source: Tanjug
She explained that the youngest students will attend classes at school, respecting all measures, including the principles for reducing the physical possibility of transmitting the virus, which means the minimum number of students.
According to her, there will be up to 15 pupils in one classroom, who will sit at a distance of at least 1.5 meters, and classes will be shortened to 30 minutes.
After the session of the Crisis Staff, Kisić-Tepavčević told reporters that all aspects were discussed, such as the number of students in schools, the age of the children, and special attention will be paid to something that will be continuously monitored, and that is the current epidemiological situation.
She pointed out that now we have a situation when prevention measures give effects and we have a more favorable epidemiological situation.
"Accordingly, decisions were made on how to organize classes in the next school year. We did everything to ensure that our youngest students attend classes in the school as much as possible. This is important for their future schooling. For older grades, we will have different combinations of classes", she explained.
She announced that the Minister of Education, Mladen Šarčević, would inform the public about this in more detail today, at a press conference at 3 p.m.
Kisić said that it is important that all prevention measures are respected during the stay at the school, which will reduce the risk to the minimum possibility of transmitting the infection.
"It is anticipated that the entire first school day in all schools will be dedicated to prevention, the manner of implementing prevention and the importance of preventive measures as a new form of behavior that will make a safe stay in schools for children," she added.
Kisić said that the mask is a preventive measure, which must be worn properly, to cover the nose and mouth, regardless of the type in question, something we will have to live with in the coming period.
In this regard, she pointed out that in the school environment, teachers will have to wear a mask all the time, and that procedures will be defined for children when it is mandatory to wear a mask and when it is recommended to put the mask aside for a while.
She said that students should also wear masks from the moment of entering school to their desk, which they will not change.
"It is recommended to wear a mask for the entire period of your stay at school, but it is possible for students to put it off when they sit in benches, although it is also recommended to wear a mask then," Kisić-Tepavčević added.
Kisic also stated that the education plan regarding the coronavirus was developed in the past weeks and that it was planned to be published in the last week of August.
"It is not something that is ad hoc, appropriate video materials have been prepared, something that is most acceptable for children. We will try to have as much visual content as possible in the places where the students are," Kisić Tepavčević concluded.
