Kuwait City: On Monday, the Kuwaiti government announced a plan to reopen schools in September. The plan is to be implemented at the start of the 2021/2022 academic year and will be the same for both public and private schools.
Each grade level will have a different start date, as follows: Kindergarten, first and second grade students on September 19, rest of elementary students on September 20, middle school students on September 29 and high school students October 3. As for teachers, they will start one or two weeks before the students.
The government stipulated that all classrooms be designed to ensure that there is at least 2 metres distance between all students and educators.
Grade 12 exams
Although the announcement detailed the plan for reopening schools in September, the government issued the green light for in-person exams to be held at the end of this academic year only for Grade 12 students, as well as international accredited exams like IB and AP.
In the case that a student tests positive for COVID-19 or is undergoing quarantine during the scheduled exam dates, they will be allowed to take the exam during the second round of testing.
Grade 12 students will be prioritised for the vaccine so that they will be vaccinated by the time they appear for the exams.
Vaccination process
The Ministry of Health is gearing up to vaccinate teachers and administrative staff starting next week. It told the Ministry of Education that teachers and employees working in the government and private schools will be prioritised.
That said, around 50 per cent of the total employees in the education sector have pre-registered to receive the vaccine. The Ministry of Health urged everyone working in the education sector to register for the COVID-19 vaccine.
