Everything About School Closures and Online Learning: What Is the Education Ministry's Final Decision?

The Education Ministry, emphasizing the priority of in-person instruction, has announced that classes may temporarily move online in emergency conditions for a maximum of three days. The decision does not mean nationwide school closures, and its implementation depends on conditions in each area and announcements by the responsible authorities.

Ambassador Arjan - Social Group: The recent statements of the Minister of Education regarding the virtualization of education for a maximum of three days in acute conditions have once again turned the issue of closing schools and how to continue the activities of classrooms into one of the concerns of families. Examining the statements of the minister, the deputy of primary education and the provincial officials shows that the announced policy of the ministry is the continuation of face-to-face education, avoiding nationwide shutdowns and making regional and temporary decisions in emergency situations; However, the implementation of this policy depends on the conditions of each region and the decision of the responsible authorities.

virtualization of schools for a maximum of three days; Explanation of the Minister of Education

Alireza Kazemi, the Minister of Education, in his latest statements about the status of schools, has emphasized that the ministry's priority is to continue face-to-face education throughout the country, and virtualization of classes should not become a permanent policy or a substitute for face-to-face education.

According to Kazemi, in the event of an acute situation, the training method will be changed only in the affected areas, on a point-by-point and temporary basis, for a maximum of three days, and after that, face-to-face training will be resumed.

These statements do not mean the announcement of a three-day closure of schools in the country; Rather, it oversees the determination of a framework for managing emergency situations in areas where the continuation of in-person school activities is limited.

The Minister of Education has also said about the possibility of changes in the status of schools due to air pollution and energy imbalances, that indicators related to air pollution will be reviewed with the cooperation of the Ministry of Health, Environmental Protection Organization and crisis management. Therefore, changing the status of schools depends on the actual conditions and the evaluation of the responsible authorities, and it is not possible to conclude from the minister's statements that schools will be permanently closed in the coming days.

Why has it been decided to close regional schools?

One of the important changes in the announced approach to education is emphasizing decision-making according to the conditions of each region instead of closing schools at the level of the country or province.

Rezvan Hakimzadeh, the deputy of primary education of the Ministry of Education, previously mentioned that the decision-making authority about school closures has been delegated to the ministry and said that it is possible to make regional decisions so that in case of problems in a specific area, schools in other regions will not necessarily be closed.

Emphasizing the importance of students' education time, Hakimzadeh considered air pollution, energy imbalance and snowfall as factors that have led to school closures in the past years. According to him, frequent closures affect the teaching time and quality of learning, and unnecessary closures should be avoided.

Also, referring to the experience of the Corona era, he emphasized the need to review the school closing policies and believes that the school should be the last part to be closed.

Based on this approach, the goal is that if there is an emergency situation in a city or region, a decision appropriate to the same area will be taken and the educational activity of other regions will continue without interruption.

Is virtual education excluded in emergency situations?

No; The statements of education officials show that virtual education is still one of the emergency management tools, but it is not supposed to replace face-to-face education in normal conditions.

In his previous statements, Kazemi emphasized the priority of face-to-face education and said that in areas with social and security threats, it is possible to use the combined model of education and the capacity of safe spaces. He emphasized that decisions about how schools operate should be made considering the conditions of each region and with the participation of governors and supply councils.

In this way, a distinction should be made between three situations: the complete shutdown of educational activities, the holding of classes in absentia, and the implementation of a combined model of face-to-face and virtual education. Absence of classes does not necessarily mean the closure of education; In this situation, the principle is determined on the continuity of learning through educational platforms.

Hormozgan experience; An example of the implementation of regional decisions

The operation of Hormozgan schools is an example of the implementation of the policy of adapting the educational program to the conditions of different regions.

Ahmed Nafisi, political, security and social deputy of Hormozgan governor, announced that starting Sunday, October 19, the activity schedule of schools in some parts of the province will change.

According to this announcement, in the cities of Qeshm, Sirik and Jask, school education is followed in a combination of face-to-face and non-face-to-face, and the attendance schedule of students will be determined according to the conditions of each school. In the villages of these cities, the activities of the schools were predicted as necessary and in person.

In Bandar Abbas, the announced program included three days of face-to-face training and two days of non-face-to-face training per week; While the schools of other cities and regions of the province continued to operate face-to-face according to the same announcement.

This example shows that the decision about the method of education is not necessarily the same for all regions of a province, and the program of each school must be informed to families through school administrators. Of course, this program is related to the announcement published about Hormozgan and it should not be extended to other provinces.

Will the schools finally close or will virtual education continue?

Examining the statements of the Minister of Education and other officials shows that the announced policy for the current academic year is based on several axes:

• The principle is face-to-face education and the ministry emphasizes on the continuity of schools.

• Virtualization for a maximum of three days is related to acute conditions and affected areas and does not mean a three-day nationwide closure of schools.

• Decision-making should be appropriate to the conditions of each region and it is possible that school programs are different in different regions of the same province.

• Air pollution, security conditions and other possible restrictions should be reviewed based on the assessment of the responsible authorities.

• Announcing a closure or changing the way of education in each region requires official notification, and the general statements of the officials alone do not mean a definitive closure in one day.

Therefore, the announced decision of education is not the general closing of schools; Rather, it is the continuation of face-to-face education along with the possibility of temporary and regional change of the education method in emergency situations.