Chinese students are getting ready to go back to school. A number of provinces and regions have announced dates and arrangements for starting the new semester. Some, like Shanxi, Guizhou and Qinghai have already resumed classes for some students, while others will do so by early April.
In central China's Shanxi Province, senior students in the Second High School have returned and plunged into preparations for their university entrance examinations. After a longer than usual winter holiday due to the coronavirus pandemic, Jia Manqi has come back to school along with her schoolmates. Jia is going to university next year, and now preparing for the national college entrance exams. "I would probably cut off running around after classes, and dedicate more time to reading and studying in the classroom," she said.
To curb the spread of the virus, all senior high students are required to study, eat and live within the perimeter of their campus. The rule is, there should be no more than 30 students in a class, and no more than three people in a dormitory. More than 3,400 students in the grade are divided into more than 120 small study groups. Over 1,300 rooms in the dormitory have been dispensed to students and teachers.
Jia said she felt lucky that she could come back to spend the last days of her high school with her fellow school mates. "That makes me feel not bad at all. Actually the academic atmosphere on campus is quite intense. Staying at home alone brings quietness. But at school, especially in the dormitory, we can motivate each other."
The school is taking precautions to ensure that the students facing a crucial juncture stay safe and get ready for the final tests of their high school years. At the dining hall, everyone is sitting apart from each other, according to the name cards plastered to the tables.
"After the school has reopened, we are taking the students' temperatures twice a day, and they are taking turns to have recesses," said Jiang Gong, headmaster of the Second High School, adding that abnormal body temperatures and fever symptoms would be immediately reported to local health authorities.
Most schools reopening in the country are prioritizing the needs of students who are graduating. Both middle school and high school graduates need to take entrance exams if they want to continue their education, and those are usually held in June.
Students' health and safety are always a priority. The Ministry of Education has set conditions for school resumption, only allowing those to reopen if the epidemic is under control in their regions, and the schools must be able to protect the health and safety of teachers and students.