BEIJING: About 16 Beijing universities have opted to delay their physical opening in favor of online classes due to the pandemic.
Among the 16 universities, Beijing Normal University, Beijing Jiaotong University, the University of Science and Technology Beijing, the Beijing University of Chemical Technology and the Beijing Language and Culture University all plan to start the spring semester with online classes around the beginning of March as scheduled. But the dates for students to return to the physical classroom have been postponed to the latter half of March.
Schools usually reopen after China’s Spring Festival, a national holiday that is known as the world’s largest annual human migration and a time when millions of people head home for family reunions. However, to avoid having students travel with those returning to the cities en masse, schools have chosen to delay physical classes to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and safeguard students’ health and safety.
On February 10, the Ministry of Education reminded schools to arrange an education plan according to the changing pandemic situation and welcome students back to school in batches and staggering time.
Under the policy, the back-to-school period runs as long as a month. In Beijing, for example, the Beijing University of Chemical Technology will see its undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students return at different times between February 27 and March 21.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN News exchange item
