SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Students, be prepared to get back to blended learning!

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education is keen on conducting official exams this year, and with the gradual reopening of the country and sectors, the exclusion of the educational sector has become illogical. Intensive meetings take place around the clock in order to search the scientific situation and closely assess the medical situation. Sources talked about an initial date to return to blended education between the eighth or fifteenth of March. On a side note, resuming education is optional.

A student in the secondary class, Maryam Barhoumi, affirmed in an interview conducted with Sawt Beirut International’s reporter Ghida Jabili that “the interaction that takes place in the classroom between the students and the teacher makes us understand the lesson more than online.” “We are optimistic about returning to schools to understand the lessons that we could not get during online classes, and in light of the pandemic and the economic conditions that the country is witnessing, we are emotionally distressed”, she added.

The Ministry has firmly refused the granting of certificates this year, in order to preserve the Lebanese diplomas, but how will schools be able to prepare their students for the official exams?

In this regard, the director of Khaled Bin Al-Walid College, Amin Al-Tawil, told Sawt Beirut International : “If there is continuity in the upcoming months, I believe that we can prepare our students to take the exams, since the curriculum has been reduced.”  “We are not comfortable with the economic and health situation of the country. Several issues must be taken into account including power outage, we are not willing to grant students certificates, but at the same time, we want our students well-prepared for their exams”, he added.

Regarding teachers, the Syndicate stressed the need to ensure a specific quantity of vaccines to the educational sector, and the head of the Teachers Syndicate in Private Schools, Rodolph Abboud, told Sawt Beirut International: “The Syndicate is considering ensuring vaccines for teachers registered in the national vaccine program, but in a later stage, as the school year could end before the teachers’ turn.

Coronavirus Follow-up Committee has confirmed that the decision to reopen schools is up to the Minister of Education, Tariq Al-Majzoub, who will hold intensive meetings in order to issue a decision in regard with measures to be taken during the present academic year, at a time when the Director General of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Dr. Firas Abyad, warned of such a step.

    Source:
  • Sawt Beirut International