Opening schools requires additional teachers

Baku/22.01.21/Turan: Educational institutions in Azerbaijan will open on February 1.

This is reflected in the decree of Prime Minister Ali Asadov "On additional measures to organize the activities of educational institutions operating in the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan during the period of a special quarantine regime."

On January 22, at a briefing on organizing the activities of educational institutions during the period of a special quarantine regime, Education Minister Emin Amrullayev also said that on February 1, the activities of primary, preschool, public groups would be gradually resumed throughout the country.

In large cities, educational institutions will function 3 times a week, and in other regions - 4 and 5 times a week.

The minister said that in the next two weeks, a partial resumption of full-time education in the 5th-9th grades, as well as in vocational and higher educational institutions, is expected. However, this depends on the contamination:  the 5th-9th grades can also be open. The less infestations, the faster the area can open. In the coming weeks - probably February 8 and 15 - there may be as many openings; the goal is to bring schools back to the visual education in a sustainable format. We do not want to open in a hurry and close in a hurry."

In September last year, education in schools and universities gradually resumed, but then because of an increase in the incidence, all educational institutions started the online form of education.

How correct is the transition of educational institutions from now on to the traditional form of education against the background of the fact that vaccination is just beginning in the country?

Eldar Guliyev, a member of the Milli Mejlis Committee on Science and Education, told Turan that the coronavirus pandemic has strongly affected many areas, including education.

“I supporter traditional education, but today we are talking about human life. We must protect both the elderly and the young. Therefore, the state was forced to transfer education from the traditional format to online,” he said.

The MP noted that it was important to make some softening: “It is important that students in the first, second grades, as well as first-year students of higher educational institutions study visually. First-year students do not know the teacher or the dean. They definitely need them to read for at least 1-2 years to know what is what. "

E. Guliyev stressed that the school and the university provide not only education, but also upbringing. “We have many young people who grew up in a patriotic spirit during this 44-day war. This is the result of exercises conducted in Azerbaijan in recent years. All this, patriotism, education is taught not only at home, but also at school, and it is better if this process is visual. "

The MP spoke about the vaccination process, which has begun in the country, and there is a hope that the pandemic in Azerbaijan will end by summer.

“Now, certain relaxation of the quarantine regime is required in education, as in other spheres. This is important for parents too. Previously, working parents left their child at school and went to work, but now they have to stay at home because of the child. On the other hand, the more the computer benefits, the greater is the harm to health. Opening schools is very important, but human health is more important. Therefore, the stage-by-stage implementation of this process deserves praise," the MP said.

Education expert Kamran Asadov told Radio Azadlig that according to the new decision 640,000 students could start the educational process on February 1: “This applies to primary school pupils. I think it is a positive start and regard it as an important step towards the resumption of the educational process in the next stages. It was important to start this process because elementary grades cannot acquire the knowledge they need online. On the other hand, there are very few opportunities for children in this age group to register on online platforms. At the same time, the absence of computers, tablets, the Internet, and the difficulties of translating mathematics into an online format made it necessary to restore education in primary grades. This was an anticipated decision, and elementary grades in many countries around the world were involved in the educational process. "

The expert spoke about some issues that should be taken into account.

“37 percent of primary school teachers are in the risk age group. The second problem is that in February, stores are closed and parental incomes fell due to the pandemic. In that case, what uniform should students wear at school? In September, children wore summer uniforms, and now are winter months, and what uniforms children use is quite an important question. Another question remains open. Student participation in school is voluntary, but what about teachers? Teachers will also be concerned about infection; do they have the right not to attend school for this reason? These questions are still open, but I am sure that they will also find their solution," he said.

K. Asadov also touched upon the issue of entering and leaving schools: “When classes began in September, parents gathered in front of the school, and this dramatically affected the number of infections. There must be strict demand to comply with the rules. "

The expert believes that the Ministry of Education should attract an additional contingent of teachers to work.

“It is necessary to attract an additional contingent of teachers so that they could replace them if some teacher has health problems due to a pandemic or after vaccination,” Kamran Asadov said. —0—