Attendance to classes for children and adolescents will be 100% in-personfrom next Thursday, February 17th, when the 2022 school year officially begins and until December 22nd. Public schools as well as private ones must comply with the measure.
This was announced on Tuesday by the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) through a press release. The measure is endorsed by the Ministry of Health, through resolution N ° MEP-003-2022 / MS-DM-1001-2022, on January 3rd of this year.
A safe return
Steven González, head of Public Education, said that the institution has worked on the protocols to guarantee the student community the safe return to the classrooms, and the pedagogical recovery that helps to close the gaps widened in recent years.
Among the considerations for the activation of the in-person teaching course, the Health entity recognized the need for education as a fundamental right of people, the execution of plans, protocols and guidelines by the MEP, to carry out the process of presence.
Vaccinations
Another influencing factor in this decision-making is the number of people vaccinated in the country.For the 2022 school year, the MEP prepared, together with the Ministry of Health, the “General Guidelines for the Resumption of In-person Services in Public and Private Educational Centers in the face of Covid-19” so that the educational community, through organized work and as a team, achieve relevant actions to safeguard the integrity and life of people.
For example, it is important to use the protocols of hand washing, sneezing, use of a mask from 6 years of age. The entry of people with symptoms of Covid-19 to the study centers is prohibited, despite having the doses of vaccines.
In addition, the directors of public educational centers and circuit supervisors in the case of private centers have the obligation to report and register on the SIGECE platform suspicious, positive or related cases of the virus.
The guideline indicates that the study centers must collaborate with the health governing areas, as well as train the educational community on the measures adopted and place the protocols in visible places.
Other recommendations are: the cleaning of spaces, care and prevention measures for the educational community, through distancing and considering the capacity, for example, restrictions on face-to-face meetings, the attention of parents or guardians of minors, use ventilated spaces and reduce crowds at the entrances to educational centers.
Regulations are also established in the hours for early childhood according to the educational service:
4 hours 10 minutes for regular groups.
3 hours 30 minutes for group by extension.
3 hours 30 minutes for groups on the third day, If the teacher does not have an extension of the day, she must comply with the 4 hour 10 minute schedule.
CAI groups will stay up to 8 hours.
Exceptions to in-person classes
The guideline prevents the entrance to the presence in those educational centers where they do not have potable water or there is an order issued by the Ministry of Health that merits the closure of the facilities.
Faced with this situation, the Regional Directions, Circuit Supervisions should look for healthy and safe sites; if not found, the distance educational environment is promoted.
Another exception to being present are people who, due to their health condition, cannot be vaccinated, in addition to the use of the mask, exceptions are made to those people with disabilities who present an alteration in their behavior.
