Paraguay resumes classes and plans to return to in-person teaching in August

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Some students in Paraguay returned to classrooms after months of being taught in mixed remote/in-person classes. The government plans to reopen educational institutions to the most vulnerable groups by August 23 and hopes to have all teachers vaccinated against the coronavirus by August 30.

“Today, we return to the students who participated in the hybrid classes. On August 23, we return to classes with the most vulnerable groups, I mean indigenous peoples, rural schools, technical schools, and students in the third year of secondary education,” Education Minister Juan Manuel Brunetti said in a video posted on social media.

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He also pointed out that by August 30, all teachers will return to classrooms, as most of them will have received the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

On the other hand, he said that those who do not want to send their children to face-to-face classes would be respected, so that distance learning will continue.

Brunetti said extended school hours and free school buses would be introduced by 2022.

“We will work on a project called Jornada Extendida, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank with a US$20 million loan that Paraguay took in 2017, and by March 2022, we want to have 300 schools with an extended school day,” he added.

As of Sunday, a total of 452,698 cases of coronavirus and 15,042 deaths had been recorded in Paraguay since the beginning of the pandemic.