Sorry, students, in-person classes remain suspended

Face-to-face classes at all kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and private tutorial schools will be suspended for two more weeks to March 7 and the secondary school allocation exam for primary six students has been canceled.

Schools must strictly comply with the guidelines issued by the Education Bureau and Centre for Health Protection, including allowing secondary six students to return to campuses to only for half-day learning or assessment activities.

The implementation of the "vaccine pass" at schools will start from February 24 and all staff and visitors have to be vaccinated. These measures will still be enforced despite the suspension of in-person classes.

With the cancellation of the primary six second-term internal assessment, the allocation band of primary six students will be determined by the internal assessment scores they obtained at the end of primary five and the middle of primary six.

The bureau will also cancel the Territory-wide System Assessment for 2022 and will discuss with the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority on how to assist schools.

With the age limit for the Sinovac vaccine lowered to three from today, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung urged parents not to hesitate and bring their children for vaccination so that face-to-face classes and on-campus activities can resume as quickly as possible.

He reminded students and parents to take care of their eyes when classes are held online by adjusting the brightness of the screens, as well as taking breaks every 20 minutes.

Yeung advised students to do more indoor exercise when at home or help their parents do chores.

Meanwhile, some 90 Macau students in Hong Kong have told Macau authorities that they want to return to the enclave.

An interviewee said on a Macau news program yesterday that their government should pick up all local students who are stuck in Hong Kong.

In response, the Macau Education and Youth Development Bureau said it had a meeting with the Tourism Office, Health Bureau and Transport Bureau on Sunday afternoon to arrange quarantine rooms for returning students.

A statement was also posted on the bureau's website, saying it is in discussions with quarantine hotels and has preliminarily arranged dozens of rooms for students who wish to return from Hong Kong.

carine.chow@singtaonewscorp.com