本局檔號

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中華人民共和國香港特別行政區政府總部教育局 Education Bureau

Government Secretariat, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region The People's Republic of China

本局檔號 Our Ref : EDB(SDCT)3/PRO/10/1/1 電話 Telephone :

來函檔號 Your Ref. : 傳真 Fax Line :

2 August 2021

To: Supervisors / Principals of all Secondary Schools, Primary Schools, Special Schools, Schools offering Non-Local Curriculum, Kindergartens and Kindergarten-cum-Child Care Centres and Private Schools offering Non-Formal Curriculum

Dear Supervisor / Principal,

Face-to-Face Class Arrangements for Schools in Hong Kong in the 2021/22 School Year

The Education Bureau (EDB), after taking into account the latest development of the epidemic and the preparedness of schools, has decided that all kindergartens (KGs), primary and secondary schools (including special schools and schools offering non-local curriculum), and private schools offering non-formal curriculum (commonly known as

‘tutorial schools’) (PSNFCs) will continue to have half-day face-to-face classes in the 2021/22 school year.

Vaccination or Regular Testing Requirements

Schools are places where students study and engage in activities. Activities on campus are frequent. Teachers, school staff and students should proactively get vaccinated in order to strengthen the immune barrier, and create a healthy and safe school environment for students to study with a peace of mind.

The EDB requires that starting from 1 September 2021, all teachers and school staff including those teaching and non-teaching staff directly employed by schools, persons who provide on-campus services, and persons who frequently visit school

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campuses¹ of the aforementioned schools must have received at least one dose² of COVID-19 vaccine, or undergo regular self-financed COVID-19 tests and receive negative results. Such tests have to be carried out and completed once every two weeks³. The specimens must be obtained from combined nasal and throat swabs, and not collected through self-testing kits. Results from deep throat saliva tests or rapid antigen tests are not accepted. For individual teachers or persons who are unfit for vaccination because of medical conditions or other reasons, they should undergo the aforementioned COVID- 19 tests regularly. Unless an individual can produce a medical certificate⁴ certifying that his/her health conditions do not allow him/her to receive vaccination, all regular COVID-19 tests must be arranged outside working hours and at his/her own expense.

Arrangements for Half-Day Face-to-Face Classes and Activities

(a) Class Arrangements

(i) for secondary schools, schools can arrange for students to attend face-to-face classes or take examinations either in the morning or in the afternoon for no more than half a day, and schools should not arrange students of the same class level to attend face-to-face classes or take examinations for an entire day. In other words, students attending morning and afternoon sessions must be of different class levels;

(ii) for primary schools, schools can arrange for all students to attend face-to-face classes or take examinations in the morning only for no more than half a day.

Schools should not arrange learning or other activities for students of any level for the rest of the day;

(iii) for KGs, those operating morning sessions or afternoon sessions can arrange for students to return to school for half-day lessons in the morning or in the afternoon respectively. KGs operating whole-day sessions can arrange for students to attend face-to-face classes either in the morning or in the afternoon for no more than a half day. KGs should not arrange learning or other activities for the same batch of students for the rest of the day;

(iv) special schools and schools offering non-local curriculum should, in principle, make reference to the arrangements of ordinary schools. The situation of schools and the needs of students will be taken into account in deciding the detailed arrangements; and

1 Teaching staff include principals, teachers and teaching assistants. Non-teaching staff include school executive officers, assistant clerical officers/ clerical assistants, janitors, cooks, school bus drivers, school light bus drivers and escorts (commonly known as nannies), laboratory technicians, brailling staff, teacher assistants, workshop attendants, artisans, social workers, educational psychologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, nurses, wardens, the related grades of boarding section staff such as social work officers, social work assistants, welfare workers. Persons providing on-campus services include, for example, group instructors. Persons who frequently visit school campuses include, for example, volunteers.

2 Includes persons who have received two doses.

3 To ensure that teachers and school staff can obtain test results on or before 1 September 2021, they should not undergo tests before 19 August 2021 and should conduct regular tests once every two weeks.

4 Schools should remind teachers/school staff and person to have their medical certificates ready. Schools can refer to https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/cap599FG_forms.html for the template of a medical certificate.

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(v) PSNFCs can arrange students to return to schools to attend face-to-face classes for no more than half a day.

(b) Arrangements for Extra-Curricular Activities

(i) Schools at this stage should not organise mass events such as parents’ days, open days or campus visits etc. Generally speaking, schools should also avoid organising speech days. That said, if a school considers that it is essential to organise a speech day, it must shorten the time of the ceremony as far as possible, reduce the number of performance activities, and follow the requirements of the venues or related stipulations in EDB’s guidelines (including imposing a limit on the maximum number of participants entering the venue); and

(ii) For an individual students having received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days, a school can arrange non-academic extra-curricular activities (e.g. music and physical activities) for such students on the other half-day (outside the half day with schooling).

Arrangements for Whole-Day Face-to-Face Classes

When the teachers and school staff as well as the students of schools have achieved a high vaccination rate, an effective anti-epidemic barrier will be built. Such schools concerned may arrange more learning time for their students. For an individual school :

(i) if 70% or more of the teachers and school staff (including teaching and non- teaching staff) directly employed by the school have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days; and

(ii) if 70% or more of the students in the whole school have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days.

the EDB will, taking into consideration the actual circumstances of the schools, allow the students of such schools to resume normal school life, including whole-day face-to-face classes, luncheons, as well as extra-curricular activities. If the number of students having received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days in the whole school has not yet reached 70%, but the number of such students in an individual class level has reached 70% of the number of students in that particular class level, we can also allow the schools concerned to arrange whole-day face-to-face classes and other activities for students in that particular class level.

For a school having fulfilled the above requirements and would like to arrange the whole school or students of an individual class level for whole-day face-to-face classes, after obtaining the endorsement of the Incorporated Management Committee /School Management Committee, the school should duly complete the Annex and notify the respective school development section of the EDB of the class resumption arrangements at least four working days before the target commencement date. The EDB will, in

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general, issue the reply slip within two working days. The school should inform parents, students and related stakeholders of its plan as early as possible. The school should keep the vaccination record of teachers and school staff properly. The abovementioned whole-day class arrangements are not applicable to PSNFCs.

Health and Anti-Epidemic Measures

Schools should continue to strictly implement all the anti-epidemic measures as stipulated in the “Health Protection Measures for Schools” issued by the EDB and the

“Health Advice to Schools for the Prevention of COVID-19” issued by the Centre for Health Protection. Such measures include wearing masks all the time within school campuses, maintaining appropriate social distances, measuring temperatures of teachers and students at school entrances, etc. to safeguard the health of teachers and students.

Schools should always keep the school environment clean and hygienic. The EDB will shortly update the “Health Protection Measures for Schools” for schools’ reference.

Vaccination is a vital step in the fight against the virus and the epidemic. The Government has launched the “COVID-19 Vaccination Programme” for schools since June this year. The programme includes the provision of (i) vaccination arrangements at Community Vaccination Centres by group bookings, and (ii) school outreach services.

We encourage schools to proactively participate in this Programme, and appeal once again to teachers and school staff, students and parents to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and the Hong Kong community as a whole.

Administrative Arrangements

Schools should note and put in place the below administrative arrangements as they previously did:

(i) if necessary, schools and boarding sections (if applicable) should remain open to take care of those students who have to go back to schools or boarding sections (if applicable) because of the lack of carers at home, and schools should maintain adequate social distances amongst students on campus. Schools should arrange staff to be on duty to handle school affairs, answer parents’

enquiries and take care of those students who have returned to schools.

Schools should ensure that adequate and appropriate manpower is made available. Teachers and school staff going back to schools should maintain adequate social distances and put in place all preventive measures;

(ii) Schools should inform stakeholders (including teachers and school staff, school bus operators, tuck shop operators, etc.) of the related arrangements before commencement of face-to-face classes in the 2021/22 school year, and should keep close contact with parents; and

(iii) Schools should also inform teachers and school staff of the related follow-up actions (including disciplinary actions) regarding any non-compliance with requirements of receiving the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine or taking regular

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virus tests in order to facilitate the smooth implementation of class arrangements and avoid affecting the students’ learning.

For enquiries, please contact your respective Senior School Development Officers / Senior Services Officers.

Yours sincerely,

(Dr Verena LAU)

for Secretary for Education

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Notice of Whole-Day Face-to-Face Classes for Whole School / Individual Class Level(s)

To: District School Development Section [Fax no.： ]

In accordance with the letter issued by the Education Bureau (EDB) on 2 August 2021, we certify that we have fulfilled the conditions for arrangements of whole-day face-to-face classes for the whole school / individual class level(s)( ‘’ as appropriate in the following box):

 whole-day face-to-face classes for the whole school - (i) at least 70% of the teachers and school staff directly employed by our school have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days; and (ii) at least 70% of the students of the school have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days.

 whole-day face-to-face classes for individual class level(s) - (i) at least 70% of the teachers and school staff directly employed by our school have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days, and (ii) at least 70% of the students of _________________ (please fill in the class level(s)) have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for more than 14 days.

With the endorsement of our Incorporated Management Committee / School Management Committee, our school plans to initiate the above-mentioned arrangement from ____ (day) __________(month) 2021 on (_______) (day of the week (e.g. Monday)). We will strictly observe the relevant health guidelines and put in place all necessary health protection measures to keep the school environment clean and hygienic. We have also been keeping parents and other stakeholders informed of the related arrangements.

School Name: School Chop

(if any) Name of Supervisor / Principal (in BLOCK letters):

Signature of Supervisor / Principal:

Date:

Fax No.:

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=================== Reply Slip (For completion by the EDB) =====================

Whole-day face-to-face classes for whole school / individual class level(s)

Dear Supervisor / Principal,

This is to acknowledge that the EDB has received your notification about the arrangements of whole- day face-to-face classes for the whole school/ individual class level(s) on the above-mentioned date.

[ ]District School Development Section Name of School Development Officer (in BLOCK letters):

Signature of School Development Officer:

Date: