The government on Wednesday fixed the dates for opening secondary schools in the country, but leaving open the possibility for an extension to the current suspension of classes at elementary schools.
Seniors will return to classes on May 11, followed by May 18 for 10th and 11th graders. Classes will be divided into sub-classes to reduce the number of pupils attending, while rotating each between morning and afternoon sessions.
Exit exams between classes will suspended for the current academic year.
However, the highly anticipated national exams for university entrance will commence on June 15.
The preliminary date for reopening primary schools and nursery schools is June 1, although this may be bumped back or even scrapped altogether, with the new school year beginning on Sept. 1, 2020, instead of the customary Sept. 11.
State-run tertiary vocational schools will open on May 18, with at most 15 students attending, and will conclude on June 30.
In terms of universities, research labs open on May 15, with more details on dates pending for lessons and all-important semester-ending examinations.
The wearing of masks in schools will be voluntary.
According to the head of a committee of experts set up by the government to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, schools will not close when a case or cases of a confirmed infection is detected in a facility, with Prof. Sotiris Tsiodras arguing that the latest data on the specific virus shows that children and juveniles transmit the coronavirus in a much lower instance than adults.
