A survey taken recently indicated that seven out of ten Mexican schoolchildren are looking forward to getting back to classes.
The experience, however, will not be the same as prior to the pandemic. While schools in Jalisco will reopen on August 30 for the new academic year, strict protocols will be in force, designed to lessen the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission.
School classes will be limited to 50 percent of their maximum capacity. Groups will be split up, with one half attending classes one week, and staying at home for distance learning the following week. Students will enter and leave school premises in a staggered formula. Breaks will also be coordinated to avoid conglomerations of students. Schools will be closed if Covid-19 cases are detected among staff or students. The state government said it hasn’t ruled out random testing at schools as part of its monitoring program.
While in-person classes for students are not compulsory, the same is not so for teachers in Jalisco. Although President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this week that teachers will not be obliged to take face-to-face classes, Jalisco Education Secretary Juan Carlos Flores said this will not apply here. He said 93 percent of teachers in Jalisco have been vaccinated, most of them with the Cansino vaccine. (See story above.)