As students gradually return to face-education in Jordan, schools welcomed back students of the second grade Monday, after long absences due to the pandemic.

The return to schools comes in accordance with clear health protocols to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, and a guide for students to return to schools in the second semester of the 2020/2021 school year, announced by the Ministry of Education Jan. 13 during a government press conference. Sunday, the Kingdom witnessed the gradual return of students to schools for the second semester.

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The number of students in the second grade is 177,840 students in various public and private schools in Jordan.

The general rate of attendance by kindergarten, first grade, and Tawjihi students in public schools on the first day of the second semester Sunday, was 49 percent, according to the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Education for Administrative and Financial Affairs Najwa Qubeilat.

Qubeilat said that the highest school attendance rate was for first-grade students, at 63 percent, while the lowest attendance rate was for Tawjihi students at 37 percent.

Tuesday, third graders are set to make their return back to the classroom.

The first stage of the return plan, within the framework of the health protocol includes kindergarten students, the first three grades of school, and Tawjihi students, who are all set to be back in classrooms simultaneously Tuesday. The ministry estimated the number of students in this stage to reach about 773,812.

The second phase of returning to face education begins Feb 21 and includes students from grades 10 and 11, followed by students from the fourth to ninth grades in the third phase on Mar. 7.

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