Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Education announced in a press release on Sunday its decision to implement remote education for schools that are located in COVID-19 hotspots.
The ministry’s announcement comes in line with the start of the 2020-2021 school year, September 7.
Remote education will concern public and private schools, as well as foreign mission schools, in neighborhoods that the Ministry of Health considers COVID-19 hotspots due to major outbreaks in infections.
Students who are registered to attend school in COVID-19 hotspots will not join their classmates until the health situation in the area improves.
The ministry’s remote education decision also concerns students who have a confirmed COVID-19 carrier in their household. These students will not be permitted to attend in-person lessons until their household is free of the virus.
Students who are not within these two categories will be able to begin school this week in small groups and in compliance with preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.
To ensure equal opportunities for students in Morocco, the Ministry of Education called on teachers, administrators, and parents’ associations to support a successful start of the school year for both in-person and remote education students.
The ministry’s decision to implement remote education in COVID-19 hotspots is an exception to the August 31 announcement that allowed parents to choose between remote and in-person education for their children.
After the announcement, Morocco’s Minister of Education Saaid Amzazi reported that 80% of parents or tutors chose in-person education over remote lessons for their children.
Amzazi said that every classroom will contain between 15 and 20 students to avoid overcrowding and uphold preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.
The minister added that students attending schools will have to respect a space of four meters from others.
