Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) Acting Director Kong Chi Meng said on Saturday that secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens will return to in-class teaching at the beginning of September.
Kong made the remarks after the opening ceremony of the “Macau Youth Politics Training Programme” organised by the Macau Youth Federation at the Macau Science Centre.
Kong said that 60 percent of schools will start on the September 1, around 15 percent will start on September 2 and the rest will resume in-class teaching on September 3 or afterwards.
Kong also said he believed schools have enough experience in COVID-19 prevention work such as ensuring teachers and pupils wear their facemasks and pupils’ temperatures are checked.
Kong said that he suggested kindergarteners go home for lunch if possible, or schools should make more classrooms available for pupils to have their lunch in smaller groups.
Kong also pointed out that Physical Education classes can resume next month, adding that the classes must be held outdoors, and pupils must be at least one metre apart.
When asked about cross-border pupils, Kong said that Macau and Zhuhai’s health authorities had discussed the matter. Kong added that the government will bear the cost of pupils’ COVID-19 testing.
Moreover, Kong told reporters that further details about the Continuing Education Development Plan will be disclosed later.
School physical classes resumed gradually in May. Senior secondary school pupils (F4 to F6) started classes on May 4, while junior secondary schools (F1 to F3) and senior primary schools (P4 to P6) resumed classes later that month. On June 1, primary 1 to 3 pupils from 59 schools returned to school. Kindergarteners will resume classes for the first-time since the Chinese New Year holiday in late January.
Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) Acting Director Kong Chi Meng talks to reporters after an event at the Macau Science Centre in Nape on Saturday. Courtesy: TDM
