Farwaniya lockdown, move to phase 3 to be discussed next week

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The Council of Ministers decided on Thursday to end the current school year (2019/2020) for grades one to 11 and students will go the next higher class, Education Minister Saud Al-Harbi said.

For the 12th grade, or the higher secondary examination, some 38,000 students will complete the school year from August 9 to September 17 but through online learning. They will not be required to sit for the written examination due to heath conditions.
The new decision applies only to government schools and private Arab schools and will not apply to foreign schools.

The minister also said the next school year will start on October 4 and is scheduled to end early July. Teaching will also be carried out through online learning unless health conditions substantially improve.

For Kuwait University, students will complete the second semester of the year from August 9 to October 6 and the summer semester from October 11 to November 17.
The first semester for the 2020/2021 academic year will be from November 29 to March 17 and the second from March 28 to July 13, while the summer semester will be from August 1 to September 21.

He said the ministry will discuss the possibility of reducing fees of private schools.
Government spokesman Tareq Al-Mazrem also said that the Council of Ministers will review next week the health ministry assessment on the health conditions in the country and take decisions accordingly.

Based on the assessment, the Cabinet will decide whether to lift a total lockdown on Farwaniya, the only residential area under isolation, and whether to move into phase three out of five phases to return to normal life.

This decision is based on the health ministry assessment and we are waiting for that, Mazrem told an online presser.

He however insisted that the disease has not vanished or eased as the number of new cases has been on the rise. As a result, the health ministry has advised people against travel abroad.