A phased resumption of classes will take place as from 05 July 2021 as the main priority remains the safety of students and of the personnel of the education sector. However, in a bid to ensure pedagogical continuity, remote learning for students of Grades 1 to 9 through programmes on the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation and the Student Support Portal, as well as Online Teaching for Grades 10 to 13 will take place from 21 June to 02 July 2021.
The Vice-Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, made this announcement, this evening, during a press briefing of the National Communication Committee on COVID-19, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis. The Attorney General, Minister of Agro-Industry and Food Security, Mr Maneesh Gobin, and the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, were also present.
VPM Dookun-Luchoomun highlighted that, in Mauritius, admissions for Grades 1, 7, and 10 will be carried out on 14 June 2021. In addition, teachers will receive their time tables and their student lists from 14 to 21 June 2021, and parents will be able to collect their child’s results and book lists. Books will be distributed in schools for Grades 1 to 9 on those dates. She further gave details with regard to the phased resumption of classes.
Students of Grades 1 to 3 will attend classes twice a week, while those of Grades 4 to 6 will attend classes on three days. This will be the case until the end of the first semester. Students of Grades 7 to 10 will come to school on two days, while those of Grade 9 extended programme, Grade 11 and Grade 13 on three days. Same principle will apply for academia: students of Grades 11 and 13 will attend school on three days while those of Grades 10 and 12 will attend classes on two days. As for pre-primary schools, which will accommodate a maximum of 15 children per class, those aged 3 years old will attend school on two days, while the 4 years old will do so on three days.
Moreover, the Vice-Prime Minister pointed out that there will not be more than 50% of students in an institution at any given time so as to ensure their safety, and all sanitary protocols will have to be observed. Same principle will apply to the tertiary and vocational institutions. She further stressed that all students above 18 years of age will have to be vaccinated.
For his part, Minister Gobin underscored that vaccination will be compulsory to have access to education and health institutions as from 21 June 2021. The regulation (Government Notice No.119 of 2021) will only be applicable in Mauritius, while Rodrigues and Agalega will be exempted.
He further indicated that access to education and health institutions will only be granted to persons who produce their vaccination card or a PCR test result slip effected within the last seven days. As for those who cannot be vaccinated due to their medical conditions, they must produce a medical certificate, duly certified by two Government Medical Officers, so as to access concerned institutions, he added. However, the vaccination card will not be requested from patients who go to a medical institution for treatment.
As for Minister Jagutpal, he underlined that results for 768 PCR tests have been obtained and six positive cases were detected: one person was tested positive on the 14th day of quarantine; two from the SSRN Hospital; one from Dr Bruno Cheong Hospital; one from Dr AG Jeetoo Hospital; and one medical staff.
Dr Jagutpal also stated that more than 8 200 persons have already been inoculated, representing more than 65% of the personnel of the health sector. He further appealed to the population, in particular to personnel of the health sector, to get vaccinated at the earliest.
