Amid school closures, as part of Qatar’s precautionary measures in the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the country’s Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) has said it will implement the ‘distant learning’ system for students of all public schools in Qatar.

Effective March 22, 2020, the system will ensure students can continue their studies online through different programs.

Ministry of Education and Higher Education has announced that all public school students will begin their online studies starting next Sunday through the "distance learning" system. #QNA

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) March 18, 2020

Students from the first to third grade will use the MS Teams program, while students from the fourth to 12 grades will use the Learning Management System LMS.

The Ministry said these systems would facilitate communication between teachers and both students as well as parents through ‘chatting.’

The Ministry further said that it has prepared the educational content for these levels. The content will be shared as daily lessons of about 10 minutes each.

These lessons will be accessible via electronic links on the digital platforms the Ministry specifies.

According to the Ministry, teachers will explain the steps involved in each lesson in a simple and sequential manner to students so they get a better understating of how to adapt to this new system.

The educational plans and the weekly schedule of classes will be published on the Ministry’s website and the LMS system.

The digital learning system will also include daily and weekly assessments.

The ministry further mentioned that it had considered these exceptional emergency circumstances, and gives students the privilege of accessing lessons and reviewing them at any time.

It also allows parents to support the education of their children to enter the platforms as needed.

Textbooks will be available in PDF format on the systems, together with supportive videos, and a set of sample answers for parents.

About distance learning for people with disabilities, the Ministry said that it is working to provide educational materials that meet the needs of students with disabilities, according to the level and type of disability. The lessons will be uploaded on LMS for students of the first and second levels.

The Ministry also underlined that as the distant learning system is being implemented, if schools or parents face any technical difficulty, they can express their concerns on the hotline 155.

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Source: Gulf Times