As the COVID-19 outbreak continues winding down on the Chinese mainland, schools are finally beginning to reopen across the country. Beijing becomes the latest municipality to announce school return dates.
READ MORE: More Schools Around China to Start Reopening This Month
Citing a Beijing Municipal Education Commission spokesperson, state news broadcaster CCTV confirmed on Sunday that the city’s middle and high schools will be partially reopening for some students beginning later this month.
According to the schedule, 12th graders will be back in the classroom on April 27, while 9th graders will return on May 11. These school return dates do not apply to students in grades 7, 8, 10 or 11.
Students in grades 9 and 12 are being prioritized due to entrance examinations in China’s public school system. High school seniors are set to take China’s annual college entrance exam, otherwise known as the gaokao, on July 7. High school entrance exams for 9th graders will take place on July 17.
READ MORE: China’s ‘Gaokao’ College Entrance Exam Delayed One Month
Meanwhile, return dates for Beijing pre-schools, kindergartens and primary schools have yet to be announced. It’s also unclear how the new schedule impacts the capital’s international schools.
However, school reopening schedules appear to be following a similar pattern across the nation, with starting dates generally staggered across a three-week period in other provinces and municipalities.
Hubei province, the original epicenter of the virus, has yet to release a school reopening plan. Likewise, return dates for several colleges, universities and after school training centers across the country remain up in the air.
[Cover image via Pexels]
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