At a news conference Thursday, Higher Education Minister Danielle McCann announced that as of February 8, some CEGEPs & Universities in Quebec will be allowed to welcome students as early as Monday.
The return to school will be voluntary for students, but mandatory for teachers, unless they are unable to attend due to health problems.
“What we want here is to break isolation that several students say they are suffering from,” McCann said.
Here's a breakdown of the province's plan to reopen post-secondary schools.
All students will be able to attend classes at least once a week.
Colleges and universities will be allowed to offer one-on-one activities along with physically distanced learning.
Student services will be offered in-person as well as online.
Class capacity will be capped at 50 per cent in red zones, but orange zones will be allowed more as long as a distance of 1.5 metres is maintained between students.
Students and staff will need to maintain two metres of distance from one another outside of classes.
The ministry will be supplying free masks to CEGEPS and universities. Wearing a face mask will be mandatory at all times for all students in all institutions in both the red and orange zones. There will be exceptions, of course, such as when eating or during certain teaching activities in which wearing a mask interferes with the course. For example, singing, drama class or any other physical activity that isn’t compatible with wearing a mask.
Libraries will remain open.
Schools are expected to implement surveillance on campus and monitor traffic and the number of people in one single area.
“It’s still not a return to normal. It’s not a presence on campus like we saw during normal times — it’s a first step,” McCann said. “And I think that students must absolutely realize it’s going to be very gradual.”
Via the Montreal Gazette
