Students, parents heave a sigh of relief as schools reopen

AMMAN — The return of thousands of students to school brought relief to both parents and students.

The Kingdom’s schools on Sunday received the first batch of students for the second semester of the 2020/2021 academic year following a plan prepared by the Education Ministry and a health protocol that was approved in cooperation with the Health Ministry.

The first stage of the plan includes students in kindergarten, grades one, two and three, and Tawjihi (12the grade). The Education Ministry estimates the number of students included at this stage to be 773,812, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

This stage consists of three batches, the first of which includes students of kindergarten, first grade and Tawjihi who went to school on Sunday. The second batch includes second graders who are scheduled to go to school on Monday, while the third batch consists of thirds graders who will attend school starting from Tuesday.

The ministry had announced earlier that the plan, according to the applicable health protocol, requires providing two square metres of space per student.

Schools that cannot provide such a space will have to adopt a hybrid pattern of distance education and in-class education in rotation, where parents choose schooldays for their children.

According to the plan, the second stage of resuming in-class education is scheduled to start on February 21, which includes 10th and 11th graders. The third stage will follow suit on March 7 including students in grades four to nine.

Rana Al Khayat, a mother of four, told The Jordan Times that she is happy that her children are back to school, especially that she is a working mother and this decision will have a big impact on her.

“This decision will allow things to go back to normal. Now I can return to my job without worrying about leaving my children alone,” she said.

“When schools were closed earlier, I would not be able to do anything in the morning other than making sure that my children attend their remote classes and follow properly. It was hard and time consuming. Now, however, I can return to my morning routine without worrying about my children’s education,” Manal, a mother of five, told The Jordan Times.

Rama Assaff, a 14-year-old student, told The Jordan Times that she believes allowing return to school was “the best decision the government ever made”. 

“School closures had a clear negative impact on our health, education, and even behaviour,” she said. “Returning to school will increase socialising, which is important for us as teenagers” Rama added.

Leen Hijawii, a teenage student, told The Jordan Times: “When I heard about the re-opening of school, I got relieved since I will be able to interact again with my teachers.”

“It had been really difficult for the past year but now I am glad to be back,” she added.