Libyan education department says schools to reopen in mid-June

CAPE TOWN — The Libyan education department said on Thursday that classes will resume on June 13, reported online daily newspaper the Libya Observer.

The education department says learners preparing for the preparatory and secondary certificates will be the first to return to school.

All schools were closed in mid-March in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

According to the undersecretary of education, Adel Jumaa, schools only managed to cover 41% of the curriculum before the government decided to close them as a preventive measure to stall the spread of the virus, reported the Libya Observer.

The undersecretary said the decision to reopen schools in mid-June was taken by the scientific advisory committee for managing the Covid-19 pandemic.

The committee further said that the safety of pupils is a priority and educational institutions will be receiving the necessary hygiene and sterilising supplies, reported the Libya Observer.

Because of the ongoing conflict in the oil-rich nation, around 200 schools in the conflict zones were closed prior to the pandemic, with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) saying schools in safer areas have become more overcrowded, Al Jazeera reported.

Furthermore, infections have been relatively low in the north African country, with only 64 people infected with the virus, and only three deaths reported to date.

Libya reported its first case of Covid-19 on March 24 and has managed to conduct 3,253 tests so far.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Covid-19 Supreme Committee has said that there needs to be a zero-tolerance approach with respect to the curfew put in place by the government to contain the virus.

The committee further stated that if municipalities ease restrictions that are not based on health criteria, they could be putting citizens' lives at risk, reported the Libya Observer.

Meanwhile, UN agencies have called for a ceasefire in Libya so that the country can focus on the pandemic, the North Africa Post reported.

The UN agencies say the ongoing fighting in the region combined with the pandemic poses a great threat to the people of Libya.