Iraqi schools have opened their doors to 10 million students for the first time since the country entered a COVID-19 lockdown in late February.
Iraq’s public schools are expected to work six days every week , rather than five, during a bid to take care of physical distancing in what were once classrooms that would easily host quite 50 students.
Elementary school pupils are set to attend class at some point every week , while older students are going to be required to travel twice every week . the remainder of their learning will happen online.
Mohammed, a young English teacher from the town of Karma in Anbar province, said both he and his students were excited to return to the classroom after eight months of online learning.
“COVID-19 may be a problem, but we’ll have the required preventions. there’ll be three metres [nine feet] between students,” he said.
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But keeping excitable children in restraint are often a frightening task. “We are sure that they won’t take care , and won’t wear their masks all the time,” 38-year-old Imad Mohammed Farhan said of his two sons, aged 14 and 11.
The father of three from Fallujah said he and his wife were “terrified” of their boys returning to high school . But added: “They miss school such a lot .”
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