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Response to Covid-19 during the school year 2020-2021
In Slovakia, schools reopened on 2 September 2020.
For safety purposes the government has decided to ask parents to sign affidavits at the beginning of the year, declaring that their children have showed no symptoms of the virus and confirming they did not visit countries identified as high-risk during the summer holidays.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports of the Slovak Republic published manuals for schools, which regulate the organization and conditions for the school year 2020/2021.
The aim of the documents is to determine the basic operating conditions of schools for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. The manuals include recommendations in three levels: green, orange and red. The green phase represents a state where the school has no Covid-19 incidents, either students or staff. The orange phase captures a situation where the school has a student or employee suspected of having the disease and the red phase contains a list of measures in case of two or more confirmed Covid-19 cases within the school premises.
Response to Covid-19 during the school year 2019-2020
The Ministry of Education on 17 March published the article "Possibilities of distance education for schools" on the ministerial website. There is also summarized information on possibilities to develop digital competencies of teachers (continuous education of teachers) and some EU and other Member States' portals and initiatives with methodologies, practical experience and projects.
The National Institute for Education, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, with the support of different NGOs prepared a portal for pupils and parents. It includes more than 100 webinars, online lessons, resources and recommendations for teachers, professional staff, parents and universities. The website also provides an overview of the available communication tools and platforms, electronic resources and existing support for all educational actors. Many online education companies have also decided to make their content available free of charge for the duration of the emergency.
The site also serves as a tool for official communication with schools and parents during this challenging time.