1mn Palestinian kids return to school after months of closure

Ramallah : About 1.2 million students, as well as 71,000 teachers, in the West Bank and the coastal Palestinian enclave returned to their schools on Monday as the new academic year started after several months of closure due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Xinhua new agency.
Some of the schools belong to the government or the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), while others are private educational institutions.
“Students went back to schools a month earlier than planned to make up for the gap that the past year has created,” Basri Saleh, the deputy education minister, told Xinhua.
He added that the current academic year will be divided into four semesters, instead of two, for fear of any emergency that can occur because of the pandemic.
On Sunday, Education Minister Marwan Awartani said that the teaching staff “will not be able to enter schools” unless they are fully vaccinated.
He confirmed that the Palestinian educational system is ready to receive students by providing a decent and safe space for each one of them.