In Havana, Face-to-Face Classes Will Be Held Only in the Afternoon in Secondary Schools

In pandemic times, according to the official press, teachers will also join students to receive virtual classes. (ACN)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 8 January 2021 — Secondary schools in Havana will have a reduction in hours due to the rebound in COVID-9 cases throughout the country, especially in the capital.

Starting next week, as detailed by some of the schools that convened a meeting for parents this Thursday, students will only have classes from Tuesday to Friday, from 12 pm to 4 pm (except on Tuesdays, when the schedule is extended to 5 pm).

Given some parents’ concerns about the decrease in school hours, taking into account the setbacks due to months long school closings brought about by the pandemic, the teacher explained that students will have morning “virtual classes” to compensate, which should be followed as a complement to the classes.

The virtual classes, they reported, begin next week and will be broadcast Monday through Friday on the Havana Channel from 8 am to 12 pm. The subjects will be Physics, Biology, Civic Education, History, Geography, Mathematics, Chemistry and Spanish. Saturday will be used for “vocational training” classes, dedicated to guiding students in their studies after finishing high school.

Parents were not told specifically what content will be provided in this remote mode

However, parents were not told specifically what content will be provided in this remote mode. The last course was only used to guide the evaluative work and consolidate the content that had already previously been given.

Therefore, parents’ skepticism is logical. “I am very concerned about this measure, I see a drastic reduction in the hours/classes and, honestly, we all know that a virtual class is not the same as having a teacher in front of the classroom, especially when teaching new content,” complained one of the parents at the meeting.

A teacher responded: “We have to make sure that the children do not miss the virtual classes and that they take notes, it is very important. I am going to review the notebooks to make sure that everyone is up to date, if any child has problems with the television and the box, you can come to the library, we will be showing it here.”

Parents are also concerned about other issues, such as the price of school lunch in day care centers as a result of the so-called “Ordering Task.”

This Friday, The Ministry of Education published on its official site that the monthly rates will remain as they have been until now: a maximum of 40 pesos for the child care center service and 7 pesos for students who stay for lunch at the school study centers.

The difficult health situation affects the entire country, which this Friday reached 344 new cases Covid-19 new cases, surpassing the record set last Monday of 316 daily infections. The accumulated total in Cuba is 13,823 positives and 148 deaths from Covid-19.

 Of the total cases on this day, 238 were contacts of confirmed cases, 69 with a source of infection abroad and 37 without a specified source of infection.

Of the total cases today, 238 were contacts of confirmed cases, 69 with a source of infection abroad and 37 without a specified source of infection. Of the 275 local-transmission cases of the day, 168 (61%) are linked to international travelers, totaling 2,160, which represents 61.9% of the total local-transmission cases since November 15th.

This Thursday, the Provincial Defense Council approved a group of new measures to “counteract the spread of the coronavirus” in Havana. Carlos Alberto Martínez Blanco, provincial director of Health, considered that in this way it could “increase the perception of risk among the population, and limit the possible transmission of the disease.”

Specifically, it was proposed to “de-concentrate points of sale of products to avoid conglomeration of people, reduce public activities, in addition to maintaining restrictions in bars and restaurants and in holding private parties.”

Regular visits to hospital institutions are also prohibited and the idea of being the same companion throughout the patient’s stay should be maintained. Martínez Blanco also pointed out that clinical-epidemiological, as well as laboratory surveillance, is being reinforced. It is also expected that investigations by medical students will resume to search for suspects.

Translated by Norma Whiting

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