DSEDJ calls on students, teachers to return to Macau earlier

The Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) has called on all non-higher education students and teachers to return to Macau earlier, ahead of the start of the new academic year.
The announcement was made by the deputy director of DSEDJ, Kong Chi Meng, during last Friday’s Covid-19 press briefing.
Kong explained that to guarantee a seamless start to the new school year, all students and teachers currently staying or residing in the mainland must return to Macau at least 14 days ahead of the start of the school year.
Members of the school communities that reside across the border in the cities of Zhuhai and Zhongshan should return to those cities before the same 14-day period.
Those who have returned from anywhere outside Guangdong province after August 6 will have to undergo nucleic acid testing within five days of the start of the new academic year, Kong said.
He also noted that the same rules apply to any other school staff members, not just students and teachers.
Although schools have full autonomy to decide when their school year will start, information previously announced shows that most will kick off the year in the first week of September.
In the same briefing, the DSEDJ deputy director also remarked on the rules that apply to higher education institutions.
The only difference for these is the possibility that online classes will be required through the end of this month and into the start of September, as the Times has previously reported.
This rule applies almost exclusively to the University of Macau, which is starting some classes this week. Other local institutions are only expected to start their school year in mid-September.