Indian schools in cyclone-hit areas of Oman plan to restart classes by Sunday

Muscat: Indian schools in areas affected by cyclone Shaheen aim to resume physical classes for students by Sunday, October 10.

This is, however, only if basic services are restored by then, students are able to reach the school, and after the campuses have been properly assessed for damage by staff and the relevant authorities.

All schools in North and South Al Batinah were instructed to suspend study for three days from 5 to 7 October, but once classes resume, Indian schools will resort to online learning until necessary.

“We successfully implemented online learning during the COVID pandemic and can easily return to that format when needed, so for now, we have asked our staff in cyclone-hit areas to only reopen the schools after taking a full audit of the damage that has been suffered to our schools,” said an official of the Board of Directors of  Indian Schools in Oman.

“Of course, what is important right now is the safety of our students and staff, and that is what we need to assure first,” he added. “In keeping with the directives of the Ministry of Education, we too stopped studies for three days, and will look at how to properly resume classes.”

Immediately after Shaheen struck, the Ministry of Education decided that classes would be halted for the next few days, given the impact of the cyclone.

“The Ministry of Education has decided to suspend study in all public and private schools in the governorates of South and North Al Batinah for the next three days from 5-7 October, with the provision that classes resume on Sunday October 10, 2021,” the ministry said in a statement issued at that time.

The ministry also decided to suspend studies in public and private schools in the governorates of Muscat and Al Dhahirah on Tuesday October 5, 2021, with classes resuming from Wednesday October 6, 2021.