The next academic year for schools in Ethiopia will begin on September 2nd 2020, according to decision taken by the country’s Education ministry, APA can report on Wednesday.
Schools in the Horn of Africa nation were shut down in March as the coronavirus pandemic exacerbated.
Ethiopa has reported 43, 688 cases of coronavirus since outbreak of the pandemic in the country.
709 Ethiopian have died of the virus.
There are now 27,181 active cases of which 290 are thought to be severe, according to the Ministry of Health.
Briefing the media on Tuesday, the country’s Minister of Education Dr Engineer Getahun Mekuria said both private and state-run schools will commence registration as of Wedneday and schools will reopen in mid September with all the necessary health precautions taken.
He said during the teaching-learning process, schools will be supplied with face masks, hand sanitizers and other related materials to help prevent the spread of the virus.
According to the minister, students will be required to wear facemasks, keep their distance from others and wash their hands regularly.
It is not clear how students will maintain a two-meter distance in classrooms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) last week urged African governments to accelerate the reopening of schools.
The organizations warned that the continent’s youths will suffer from prolonged closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a survey conducted across 39 countries on the continent, only six African countries have fully opened schools.
MG/as/APA