17/04/2020
East Asia - Covid-19 update – 17 April 2020
Advice for UK Education Institutions on Covid-19 impact in East Asia
Summary
At the British Council, the health and safety of all our visitors, staff and the communities in which we operate is our top priority. We support and cooperate with all local government agencies to put all necessary measures in place to ensure the continued well-being of all with whom we engage in the course of our operations.
This post is to keep UK institutions updated on disruptions across the East Asia region caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
For travel advice, please refer to FCO updates, and we would encourage institutions who are considering travelling to sign up for alerts - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. We also strongly encourage visiting local government health websites to stay abreast of the prevailing health advisory and precautionary measures in any country.
For IELTS test arrangements as a result of Novel Coronavirus precautions, please see: https://www.ielts.org/news/2020/changes-to-ielts-test-arrangements-in-some-locations-due-to-novel-coronavirus.
We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to provide updates as the situation develops. Please find current information by country/territory as per below:
Key Updates
China
All Chinese provinces except Hubei have now announced staggered reopenings of schools and universities – please see full details below.
Hong Kong
The HKDSE exam looks set to go ahead, starting on April 24th. Exam results should be released on 22nd of July. There are many reports of students being worried about grade attainment considering face to face teaching has been suspended since early February.
Japan
On 16th April the Japanese Government expanded a state of emergency to cover the whole country, which includes directives for citizens to stay at home and education institutions remaining closed.
Malaysia
The government has extended the ‘restricted movement’ order to 28 April, meaning all education institutions are closed. The SPM and STPM examinations later this year have been postponed.
Thailand
On 7 April 2020, with the approval from the cabinet, Ministry of Education announced schools in Thailand to defer the start of the first semester of academic year 2020 from 16 May to 1 July 2020
China
Updated 16 April
All Chinese provinces except Hubei have now announced staggered reopenings of schools and universities
All provinces except Hubei have now set return dates for at least some students. Beijing, at the same time as announcing reopening dates for schools, also announced that it will follow the same Gaokao dates as the rest of the country (7 and 8 July), meaning Hubei is now the only province not to have announced Gaokao exam dates either.
All provinces are adopting a staggered approach, mostly starting with students in the 3rd (final) year of high school as well as those in their 3rd year of junior high school, who are preparing for their Gaokao and Zhongkao exams respectively. In many cases the remaining secondary students will return one week after final-year students, with some provinces also reopening primary schools at the same time.
The table below shows all currently announced school reopening dates as of the 13 April. Levels of education not listed in the below – including primary schools and universities in some provinces, as well as non-final-year secondary students in several areas – do not yet have set times for reopening.
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Before April 7 |
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After April 8 |
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April 9 |
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April 10 |
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April 13 |
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After April 13 |
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After April 14 |
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Before April 15 |
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April 15 |
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Before April 20 |
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April 20 |
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After April 20 |
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After April 21 |
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23 April |
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April 25 |
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April 27 |
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After April 27 |
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“Late April” |
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“Early or Mid May” |
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May 7 |
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After May 11 |
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After May 18 |
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Comment by British Council International Education Services
UK institutions working with Chinese partners or recruiting Chinese students should be aware of current study arrangements in the country. The latest dates announced by Beijing all but wraps up reopening dates, with just Hubei to go. For TNE providers, close discussions with partners are encouraged to support preparations for reopening of campuses and continued delivery of short term solutions including online delivery where campuses remain closed.
China’s National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) postponed one month
The Ministry of Education announced this morning (March 31) that this year’s National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) is to be postponed by one month to July 2020. The exams will be held on the 7 and 8 July, rather than starting from 7 June as originally scheduled.
All provinces except Hubei will follow these new dates.
Hubei has been granted permission to decide on its own timeline for the Gaokao, due to the severity of the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. Dates for the Gaokao in Hubei will be released in due course by the Ministry of Education.
Comment by British Council International Education Services:
Gaokao results are usually published about three weeks after the examinations. In the last couple of years an increasing number of UK institutions have begun accepting Gaokao results for entry. Institutions who plan to accept students for 2020 based on Gaokao results will now need to wait until the end of July to be able to do so.
Institutions should consider reviewing their communication and messaging to any students who have offers based on Gaokao results to reassure them that entry will still be accepted.
Return dates have now been set for final-year high school students in most provinces so students will be able to return to school and prepare for the exams. For the latest details on provincial return dates please see here.
Source
Ministry of Education - Announcement on the 2020 National College Entrance Examination schedule (in Chinese): http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xxgk/s5743/s5744/202003/t20200331_436662.html
Chinese education authorities announce flexibility on overseas distance learning recognition during epidemic period
The Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) - a body under the Ministry of Education - announced on April 3rd that it would relax its rules on the recognition of overseas distance-learning qualifications due to the current COVID-19 epidemic.
The announcement expressed CSCSE's "understanding and support" of overseas universities' measures to mitigate the epidemic, including online delivery and online thesis defence, and confirmed that these measures will not affect the recognition of overseas degrees even if this results in students' overseas study duration not meeting the stated requirements for their degree to be recognised in China.
Comment by British Council International Education Services:
CSCSE is responsible for officially accrediting overseas degrees in China, and returning overseas graduates are required to register their degrees with CSCSE to confirm their validity.
The recent announcement confirms that overseas degrees will still be recognised even if universities' mitigation measures would mean that the course fails to meet CSCSE's recognition requirements (for example because students return to China and study remotely).
The British Council's discussion with CSCSE confirms that this policy will apply for the whole period of epidemic controls, including newly registered students if the epidemic continues into the next academic year.
However, it only applies to students who find themselves studying online as a result of their universities' COVID-19 mitigation measures. It should not be interpreted as a change in CSCSE's policy for the recognition of online delivery more broadly.
Market support
We are currently exploring alternative marketing and student recruitment solutions for UK institutions where on-the-ground activities in China have been affected by the outbreak.
Two digital campaigns in China are currently open for registration:
China Spring Media Campaign
Post Gaokao Virtual Clearing Exhibition
Update on IELTS testing
Following directives of the Ministry of Education in combatting the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) and the British Council have been instructed to cancel all IELTS tests scheduled for April across Mainland China.
All test takers who have registered for an IELTS test in April in Mainland China will receive a full refund which will be credited to their personal registration account. Test takers who have already chosen to cancel their test in April need to raise a refund request through the IELTS registration website.
Many test takers in these locations will be delayed in sitting a test and subsequently sending their IELTS scores to institutions. We hope that schools, colleges, universities and other institutions understand that this delay will be through no fault of the candidate and hope that they will be able to extend the application process for these applicants.
Full details and contact information for IELTS enquiries can be found here.
Hong Kong
Updated 15 April
Public Events
A ban on more than four people getting together in public places was implemented for two weeks on 28th of March for at least for two weeks. There's no limit on how many people can congregate in private settings or at a place of work, however this means that face to face student recruitment activities are current not feasible.
Schools
In view of rapid escalation of COVID-19 epidemic in Hong Kong recently, on 21 March, the Government announced that all schools will continue to suspend classes until further notice. It is also reported that the new class resumption date will be published at least 3 weeks before the new date according to the Education Bureau (EDB).
Many schools in Hong Kong have already switched to online learning and lessons by conference call, with assignments given out on a daily or weekly basis. Given the fact that the exact date of class resumptions remains uncertain, the Secretary for Education said EDB would consider rescheduling this semester’s school calendar to help students make up the teaching contact hours that they missed since early February. In a schoolteachers’ opinion poll, 40 per cent of them said their schools tend to shorten the summer break to make up for lost time.
HKDSE exam will commence on 24 April as planned if infection cases remain low.
Further to the last announcement regarding postponement of HKDSE exam date in March, the Education Bureau (EDB) confirmed that the exam will commence on 24 April as planned and aims to release the exam results on 22 July. Previously, EDB has already announced that the written tests will be deferred to 24 April – 25 May and the speaking tests of both Chinese and English language subjects will be cancelled.
Meanwhile, contingency plans were also revealed by the government. If the situation worsens again next week, EDB would push back the exam date to 22 May and delay the results date to August. The second option would be having the exam date commencing from 11 June (if it is still not improved). In the worst-case scenario, if the pandemic is still severe and the HKDSE cannot start on 11 June, the Hong Kong Exam Assessment Authority will cancel the exam and has developed a mechanism to assess candidates’ academic level based on school-based assessment.
As for the JUPAS* results release, the government has previously announced that the release date of main round offer results will be deferred to 10 August. This usually kicks off a second round of applications to UK universities, with students who have missed out on a local place looking for overseas options instead.
*Note: JUPAS in HK is equivalent to UCAS in the UK
Sources:
Announcement of 2020 JUPAS Main Round Offer Results, JUPAS, 11.03.2020
Deferral of Class Resumption for All Schools Together, We Fight the Virus, HKSAR, 31.03.2020
Press release by Education Bureau, HKSAR (Chinese only) 15.04.2020
Local Universities
Local publicly funded universities have switched to online since early February and likely continue this measured approach until end of the second term (early June). Many final exams are now set to be conducted online. Local student unions have urged universities to ensure assessments be fair and accessible to all students, in particular, those who are from vulnerable families (given the difficulties of online learning). Some options e.g. ‘late withdrawal’ and ‘pass-fail’ options have been commonly used amongst local universities. The latter means students would not receive letter grades and have the grades to be calculated towards their overall GPA. Currently, it has been offered by the University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology, and Education University.
Source: https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3079668/coronavirus-final-exams-loom-hong-kongs-university
British Council Operations
The British Council office in Hong Kong reopened on Monday 02 March, however is closed to the public. For the most up-to-date information on our services, please visit our website: www.britishcouncil.hk/en/novel-coronavirus-update.
We are of course happy to hold meetings with the UK Education sector by means of Skype calls.
Travel restrictions in summary
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Non-Hong Kong residents will be denied entry into HK
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HK residents and valid HK visa holders must be self-isolated for 14 days after returning home
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Passengers are no longer permitted to transit through HK International Airport.
Sources:
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Press release: Government enhances disease prevention and control measures with reference to WHO's advice, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
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Centre for Health Protection (CHP), HKSAR
Macau
The Education and Youth Affairs Bureau in Macau have announced that classes in local schools will resume no later than April 20, senior high school pupils preparing for their university entrance examinations were allowed to go back to school from March 30.
Macau has prohibited non-residents from entering Macau with the exception of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Source:
https://news.gov.mo/detail/en/N20CQbWKUo?1
Contact: Anna Lee anna.lee@britishcouncil.org.hk or Karen Hsu karen.hsu@britishcouncil.org.hk
Indonesia
Updated 16 March
Confirmed cases in Indonesia
As per latest reports the number of Covid-19 cases in Indonesia have increased to more than 5,500. The virus has now spread to all provinces.
Large scale social restrictions have been introduced to counter the increase in cases. Indonesia has a travel ban on all foreigners entering the country. This ban includes travellers transiting through Indonesia. Holders of work permits, diplomats and official visitors are exempted from this ban.
Sources:
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/23/indonesias-latest-covid-19-figures.html
Schools and Universities
Education institutions remain closed. The Minister of Education had cancelled all national exams for schools, followed by the announcement that the cancellation of exams will not impact graduation or enrolment into the next level of study.
While most institutions have introduced online learning there are challenges for access and resources with media coverage highlighting the difficulties faced by students.
Funds from the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) budgets have been re-allocated towards the fight against Covid-19 across Indonesia.
Sources:
Public events
Large scale social restrictions are in place against public gatherings including all events. Only essential services are open and available.
British Council Activity
British Council staff are working home as offices remain closed.
Our teams are available for meetings online.
Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my
Japan
Updated 16th April
Latest news
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On 16th April the Japanese Government expanded a state of emergency to cover the whole country (previously it only covered Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Osaka, Hyogo and Fukuoka prefectures). This will remain active until at least the 6th May. Emergency measures will vary by locality, but are likely to include requests or directives for residents to stay at home, work from home, and avoid areas where infection is more likely.
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As of 3rd April, the Government of Japan will deny entry to Japan for any non-Japanese nationals who have been to the UK in the last 14 days, other than in exceptional circumstances. These measures also apply to people who live in Japan but are temporarily out of the country.
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Japan has suspended its visa waiver system for anyone travelling on a British Citizen or British National (Overseas) passport until at least the end of April 2020.
According to the World Health Organisation, as of 16h April the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases was 8,582 with 482 new cases reported in the previous 24hours. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200416-sitrep-87-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=9523115a_2
Public Events
Many large-scale events, including study abroad fairs, across the country remain cancelled.
Schools and Universities
Under the state of emergency, most schools and universities remain closed until at least the 6th May.
British Council Activities
We are keen to support your continued engagement with Japan and are exploring alternative ways to profile institutions and to help you connect with prospective students and their families. Details will be shared via this website in the coming weeks.
Contact
Tomoko Kawakita, Head of Education, British Council Japan - tomoko.kawakita@britishcouncil.or.jp
Malaysia
Updated 15 April
Government Response
As Covid cases in Malaysia continue to rise, the government has extended the ‘restricted movement’ order to 28 April 2020. All places of business and worship are closed. All government and private offices except those providing essential services remain closed.
Public Events
The restricted movement order enforces cancellation of large-scale events. This includes all sports, religious, cultural and social activities. Malaysia had already banned public events from 13 March onwards as one of the steps taken to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Health authorities in Malaysia have advised against organising any events (mass gathering of 50 people and above) for six months to a year even after the period of movement restriction.
Schools and Universities
With the restricted movement order, all educational institutions: schools, universities, vocational training institutions and campuses will be closed from 18 March until 28 April 2020 or until further notice.
On 28 March, the local higher education institutions were advised to plan and commence the second semester of the current academic year between 27 April and 1 June 2020. The Ministry of Education stated that this decision had been reached after considering both local and international students in Malaysia, the provision of and readiness by local institutions to take on the current situation including online learning options.
Malaysian authorities have cancelled and postponed SPM, SPTM, UPSR examinations:
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SPM is Malaysia's Year 11 equivalent national examination. It has now been pushed to Q1 of 2021, from Q4 of 2020. The change will affect UK FEI’s recruitment plans.
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STPM is Malaysia's Year 12 equivalent national examination. STPM Semester 2 examination date has been changed to August 2020, while the Semester 3 examination will be held in the first quarter of 2021. The change will affect UK HEI’s recruitment plans.
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Cancellation of UPSR might affect UK Schools' recruitment plan in Malaysia.
Sources:
Travel Restrictions
Full ban on overseas travels for Malaysians - Those returning from overseas must undergo health and screening and -quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. From April 3, Malaysians returning from abroad to be sent straight to quarantine centres.
There is also a full ban on tourists and foreign visitors entering Malaysia.
British Council Activities
British Council staff are working from till 28 April 2020 in accordance with the restricted movement order. We regret that we are therefore unable to receive visitors for meetings during this period, however we are of course available for meetings via Skype.
Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my
Singapore
Updated 16 April 2020
The confirmed Covid-19 cases in Singapore are now more than 3600. Cases have spiked over the last two weeks and are largely attributed to travellers or foreign workers.
The government’s ban on visitors remains strictly on place. All Singapore citiizens returning to the country are required to stay at home for 14 days on arrival.
Educational institutions
The Ministry of Education has advised international students from Singapore to return home. Students choosing to stay abroad are to register with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Detailed FAQs for international students can be viewed at https://www.moe.gov.sg/addressing-top-covid-19-concerns
Education institutions are now closed till 4 May 2020 and students have been shifted to home-based learning online. Following the government directives most institutions have cancelled in-person examinations and universities are shifting to online exams and assessments.
Sources:
Public events
The complete ban on public events remains in place and events are to be deferred or cancelled.
The Ministry of Health in Singapore provides a regularly updated status report on the daily situation for all at https://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19
Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my
South Korea
Updated on 13 April
South Korea has 10,512 cases (2.1%) out of 514,621 examinations, 7,368 released cases from quarantine, and 214 deaths as of 10 a.m., 13 April.
As infections keep increasing among arrivals from abroad, all arrivals have been tested from 1 April. Those that test positive are taken to a medical facility. Those that test negative have to self-isolate for 14 days.
Public Events
In South Korea, the parliamentary election has taken place — albeit with a lot of preparation and protocols in place to protect voters.
The Korean Government has re-emphasised the need for social distancing and announced a two-week extension until 19 April. They continue to ban all protests and mass gatherings.
They also urged suspension of public facilities such as clubs, internet cafes, karaoke rooms, bars, restaurants, indoor gyms, and churches until 19 April. They will invoke relevant laws to force noncompliant facility operators to exercise the right to indemnity.
The national examinations scheduled in March and April, including various civil service examinations and the school qualification examination, have been postponed to April, May, or June.
Schools and Universities
After the 5-week postponement of the new academic year for all schools across the nation, the government has decided to begin schools online from 9 April in order, starting with 9th and 12th graders. Kids in the 4th through 8th grades and 10th and 11th grades will start online classes on 16 April. First, second, and third graders will begin on 20 April. The first and second graders will be offered TV lessons by the Educational Broadcasting System instead.
As all school examinations and evaluations are deferred for five weeks, the whole academic calendar including the schedule of early admission and national college entrance exam (KSAT) will be postponed. KSAT is likely to take place on 3 December 2020 by delaying for two weeks.
After up to four weeks of postponement, universities across the nation have temporarily shifted to remote learning at short notice. Students have been slowly adapting to online classes since mid-March when colleges officially started.
Sources:
Korea Government’s official website for the Covid-19 http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/
South Korea Goes to the Polls, Coronavirus Pandemic or Not, NY Times (10 April) https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/world/asia/coronavirus-south-korea-election.html
Online classes to start on April 9, Joongang Daily (1 April) http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=3075564&cloc=joongangdaily|home|top
Contact: Heather Eom sunhyun.eom@britishcouncil.org.kr
Taiwan
Updated 16 April
The situation of COVID-19 in Taiwan remains positive, with few new local transmission cases. The government has maintinaed measures such as wearing facemasks if you are outside and having temperature taken for entering school buildings and campuses, those who have fevers are not allowed to enter. For information on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Taiwan, please visit the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov.tw/En
Schools and Universities
The Central Epidemic Command Center announced on 16 March that students and teachers at senior and junior high schools as well as elementary schools around Taiwan will all be prohibited from overseas travel until the end of the current semester, which is scheduled to end on July 14.
The MoE is working on a digital learning platform for under the senior high school sector.
The school-term is running as normal, and all national exams and assemblies are continuing to happen.
Most universities cancelled presentation-type events, and some courses are moving to online.
Most public events are currently cancelled.
Travel Restrictions in summary - as of 24 March 2020
- All eligible passengers entering Taiwan must undergo 14 days of home quarantine
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Foreign nationals are not permitted to enter Taiwan
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From 24 March to 7 April 2020, no passengers are permitted to transit through Taiwan
Sources:
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3899387
Contact: Diane Hsu, diane.hsu@britishcouncil.org.tw
Thailand
Updated 15 April
Thailand has announced an emergency decree imposed from 26 March to 30 April. During the state of emergency, measures will start ‘from light to strict’, as deemed necessary by the authorities. Currently, a 6-hour curfew from 22.00-04.00 has already been announced and health check points have started nationwide. All international inbound flights are banned until 30 April 2020.
Schools, universities and public events
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On 7 April 2020, with the approval from the cabinet, Ministry of Education announced schools in Thailand to defer the start of the first semester of academic year 2020 from 16 May to 1 July 2020. To avoid the disruption in the next academic year, the Ministry plans for the second semester to start on 1 December 2020 to 30 April 2021. Therefore, students will be able to start the 2021 academic year again as usual in mid of May 2021. However, students will not have school holiday in October 2020 and April 2021.
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Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation issued a formal letter on 17th March 2020 asking universities and higher education institutions to stop all face to face classes and start to implement virtual classes. Details of the announcement can be obtained from https://www.ops.go.th/main/index.php/news-service/announcement/1983-covid-19
British Council’s operation
In accordance with the Government (OPEC) announcement on school closures, face to face English classes are suspended until 1 July. Paper-based IELTS is suspended until 30 April 2020 while computer-delivered IELTS has been resumed since 16 April 2020.
The International Education Services Team is still in operation and will be able to help give advice and respond to queries from UK institutions, agents, and stakeholders.
Contact: Uraiwan Samolee, uraiwan.samolee@britishcouncil.or.th
Vietnam
Updated: 15 April 2020
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and ten other localities in Vietnam which are deemed to carry high Covid-19 infection risks have extended the social distancing campaign until April 22, according to the latest decision of the Prime Minister in the afternoon of 15 April.
The social distancing campaign calls for people to stay home and doesn't allow public gatherings of more than two. People can only leave home for emergencies, buying food and medicine and working in factories, production facilities and businesses that make or distribute "essential" goods and services.
There were 1,659 Covid-19 suspects quarantined in Vietnamese hospitals as of morning of 15 April, the lowest figure in 20 days. Vietnam’s Covid-19 infection count was 267, of these 98 are active while the remaining 169 have been discharged from hospitals.
Education
At the school level, the Ministry of Education and Training has agreed for education departments in different cities to cut curricula taught at the primary, lower-secondary and upper-secondary education level. The removed contents are mostly those that are designed for advanced level or practical application. Some lessons are shifted to optional or for students to self-study. The ministry keeps the decision that this school year would end by July 15 and the national high school graduation exam would be held from August 8 to August 11.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese universities have started campaigns to recruit students for this autumn intake and have devised flexible plans to ensure final-year students can graduate on time or not much later than initial plans so that they can apply for jobs or courses of further study soon.
Sources:
Contact: Lien Ta, lien.ta@britishcouncil.org.vn
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