Arakan State education officer stresses Covid protocols as key to school reopenings

By DMG 31 Aug 2021

DMG Newsroom
31 August 2021, Sittwe

Schools suspended due to the third wave of Covid-19 are likely to be reopened in line with pandemic-related regulations, Arakan State education officer U Tin Thein told DMG. 

“Schools were opened in line with Covid-19 regulations, but suspended later due to higher infection rates. So, when we reopen schools, it is likely to adhere to the Covid-19 regulation of placing students at six-feet distance in classrooms,” U Hla Thein said. 

Schools have been closed since July 9 and will remain shuttered until at least September 10, the regime council said on August 30. 

At a meeting on August 20, the Arakan State military council decided to initiate clean-up work at schools in preparation for their eventual reopening. 

A parent from the Arakan State capital Sittwe who did not want to reveal his identity said he was worried about the health of the students but added that he would nonetheless send his children to schools so that they could further their education. 

“I am worried about sending my children to school amid Covid-19. But I must send them to school because I do not want them to have their education delayed,” he said. 

During the pandemic’s ongoing third wave, 4,108 cases and 393 deaths were reported in Arakan State as of August 30, while 306 patients were being provided treatment at hospitals, according to the Department of Public Health in Arakan State.