29/05/2020
East Asia - Covid-19 update – 29 May 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: Around 40 per cent of Chinese students have now returned to schools and universities
Japan: State of emergency lifted for Tokyo and four other prefectures on 25 May
Korea: The phased school re-opening with face-to-face classes is in progress from 20 May till 8 June.
Malaysia: Ministry of Higher Education announced that all lectures will be delivered online till the end of 2020.
Thailand:
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The second phase of lockdown relaxation has been announced and will be effective on 17 May.
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The Ministry of Education announced its plan for the new school terms that enable students to have school breaks.
China
Updated 28 May
Around 40 per cent of Chinese students have now returned to schools and universities
As of 20 April, all of China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have either reopened their schools or set return dates for at least some students – including the worst-affected province of Hubei. All provinces and regions have also rescheduled their Gaokao university entrance exams to the 7th-8th of July, while most have also announced postponement of the Zhongkao high school entrance exam taken at age 15.
Although most re-openings are now proceeding according to schedule, a staggered approach has been taken and varied from each province. Most have started 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. After reopening, schools continue to enforce requirements such as temperature checks and hand sanitisation on arrival and mandatory mask-wearing.
According to a Ministry of Education press conference, more than 107 million students at all levels had returned to school as of May 11. However, the return rate varies greatly by level of study, as described below:
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2.1 million HE students (including higher vocational and university students) have returned to in-person classes across 27 provincial-level regions, representing about 6 per cent of the national total.
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21.6 million academic senior high school students across all 31 regions, or around 90 per cent of the total
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3.3 million vocational senior high school students in 24 regions, roughly 20 per cent of the total
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31.5 million junior high school students in 29 regions, around two thirds of the national total
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43.8 million primary school students in 21 regions, about 40 per cent of the total
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4.7 million kindergarten students in eight provinces and autonomous regions, about 10 per cent of the total
[Proportions were calculated by the British Council based on total enrolments at each level in 2019, as 2020 data has not yet been released]
Higher Education
At the higher education level, all 31 provincial-level regions have also announced their arrangements for opening university campuses. The table below shows all currently announced university reopening dates as of 28 of May. This re-opening does not include international students or staff currently outside of China as the Chinese border is currently closed to foreigners.
In contrast to basic education, specific dates for universities’ reopening are set by the individual institution – provincial-level announcements set the earliest date that they can reopen rather than requiring them to reopen on that date. For example, although Hunan provincial government hasn’t announced any specific dates for reopening of universities in Hunan, Hunan City College received the approval to set the timeline for final-year students returning to the campus on 9 – 10 May, the remaining students were scheduled to return on 16 – 17 May.
Also, though most universities in Jiangsu reopened throughout April, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University has announced all delivery will be conducted online and students will not come back to the campus this academic year. Likewise, Nanjing Agricultural University encouraged those final-year students could stay at home if it is not essential for them to access to the experimental/practical facilities for achieving final degrees. And remaining students could voluntarily opt for returning to the campus or not for the spring term.
Most of the Universities taking staggered approaches are prioritising all graduating students and to ensure them to complete graduation procedures scheduled in June. At East China Normal University in Shanghai, students need to submit applications at least three days before they arrive, explaining the reason for their return, detailing their itinerary and showing their green QR health codes. They also have to complete a health statement. Under the University’s current COVID-19 prevention measures, only graduating students and those with important research tasks can return. Some non-locals already in Shanghai could return from late April and those from Hubei can return to the campus after undergoing a 14-day quarantine at designated place in the University and pass nucleic acid and antibody tests. Some provinces including Heilongjiang, Qinghai and Shandong, and some universities in Sichuan, Liaoning and Shaanxi have announced that nucleic acid testing is necessary before students can return to their campuses.
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By May 28th |
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June 1st to 7th |
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After June 6th |
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After June 8th |
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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.
Sources:
http://www.moe.gov.cn/fbh/live/2020/51974/twwd/202005/t20200512_453147.html
China’s National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) postponed one month
This year’s National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) is 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
Hong Kong
Updated 26 May 2020
Public Events
As of 26 May, the government will relax the limit on the size of social gathering and allow a group of up to eight people getting together in public places. There's no limit on how many people can congregate in private settings or at a place of work, however this still means that face to face student recruitment activities are currently not feasible.
Schools
In light of a dwindling number of new Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong lately, on 22 May, the Education Bureau announced that local schools will reopen in phases from 27 May. Senior secondary students from Form 3 to Form 5 are expected to return to schools on 27 May firstly; followed by the rest of younger secondary students and Primary Year 4 to Year 6 students to resume classes on 8 June. Finally, the rest of Primary students along with Kindergarten students at K3 level will restart on 15 June. As for international schools, some of them reopened from 20 May onwards.
In addition, it was also reported that local schools may shorten this year’s summer break by up to 3 weeks in order to catch up with the learning progress after 4 months of class suspensions. This may affect students’ plan to enrol on a summer course or camp overseas.
HKDSE Exam 2020
The HKDSE exam has taken place on 24 April – 25 May as scheduled. The tests were originally expected to begin on 27 March but were pushed back due to surge of Covid-19 infected cases in March. The oral tests of Chinese and English Languages were also cancelled. Around 46,000 school candidates registered for this year’s DSE exam, which is 5% fewer than the total number last year. Candidates are expected to receive their results on 22 July and offers from their chosen universities (JUPAS* results) on 13 August.
*Note: JUPAS in HK is equivalent to UCAS in the UK
Sources:
Announcement of 2020 JUPAS Main Round Offer Results, JUPAS, 11.03.2020
Hong Kong students finally begin delayed Diploma of Secondary Education university entrance exams after month’s delay, SCMP 24.04.2020
Press release by Education Bureau, HKSAR 22.05.2020
Coronavirus: some Hong Kong pupils return to school after four months of Covid-19 closures, SCMP 20.05.2020
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:
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/covid-19
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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Transit flight services at Hong Kong International Airport, which were suspended on March 25, would resume from June 1
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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Coronavirus: more Hong Kong businesses to reopen as city eases social-distancing measures, SCMP 26.05.2020
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Centre for Health Protection (CHP), HKSAR
Macau
Updated 26 May
Senior and junior secondary schools resumed classes on 4th May and 11th May respectively. Primary 4 to 6 resumed classed on 25th May. For resumption of classes in kindergartens, remaining primary classes and special education schools, it will be announced later in accordance with the epidemic situation.
Source:
News from Government Information Bureau , 25.05.2020
https://www.ssm.gov.mo/apps1/PreventCOVID-19/en.aspx#clg17458
Contact: Anna Lee anna.lee@britishcouncil.org.hk or Karen Hsu karen.hsu@britishcouncil.org.hk
Indonesia
Updated 27 May
Large scale strict social restrictions and social distancing remain in place to counter the spread of Covid-19. However, the government has decided to ease restrictions for some industries and production to counter the impact of Covid-19 on the economy. The Indonesian Minister of Health has announced standard operating procedures for business, workplaces and factories to observe in order to gradually re-open for business. These initiatives are aligned with the country’s efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 and move towards the ‘new normal’.
Sources:
Schools and Universities
Education institutions remain closed for the time being, but plans have been announced for the re-opening and commencement of classes.
The Jakarta Education Agency plans to re-open schools in the capital on July 13 to coincide with the beginning of the school year. The Jakarta Education Agency is preparing for different scenarios that they will finalise closer to opening of schools.
State and private universities plan to open in August and continue with classes either online or in person based on government directives closer to the date of opening.
Sources:
https://bebas.kompas.id/baca/bebas-akses/2020/05/08/kuliah-semester-baru-disiapkan-sesuai-jadwal/
Travel requirements
The Governor of Jakarta recently banned all people from entering or leaving the city without approval as a step to contain the spread of Covid-19. Garuda International Airlines now requires all passengers to submit a permit before boarding a flight. All travellers flying to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport are required to submit a medical letter from hospitals verifying that they are Covid-19 negative. Passengers without permits will be put up for quarantine in government selected hotels.
Source:
Public events
Large scale social restrictions are in place against public gatherings including all events. All businesses being allowed a conditional re-opening are subject to strict social distancing measures as per government requirements.
British Council Activity
British Council staff are working from home as offices remain closed.
Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my
Japan
Updated 28th May
Latest news
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The Japanese Government lifted the state of emergency for Tokyo and four other prefectures on 25 May, the last remaining region in the country to be subject to restrictions.
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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 June 2020.
Public Events
Many large-scale events, including study abroad fairs, across the country remain cancelled.
Schools and Universities
Schools in many regions across the nation reopened with staggered attendance, in preparation for a full-scale restart of classes mainly from June 1st, following the government’s lifting of the state of emergency on 25 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. Currently we are planning to conduct a Study UK information webinar in July to inform the Japanese students about current UK university status. 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 27 May
Government Response
The Malaysian government introduced the Conditional Movement Control Order from 4 May to 9 June. Based on a review of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia, the government will decide on whether they will lift or extend this Conditional Movement Control Order in early June. The slight relaxation for economic and business sectors is currently being allowed only under strict conditions and enforcement of stringent health standard operating procedures. Businesses and social activities that pose a risk for spread of Covid-19 remain closed till further notice.
Source:
Public Events
The restricted movement order remains in place for large-scale events. 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. However, activities that do not draw large gatherings or close contact are now allowed under certain conditions.
Schools and Universities
The Ministry of Higher Education announced on 27 May that all lectures will be delivered online till the end of 2020. Exceptions will be considered for selected categories of students. These may include postgraduate research students who need physical access to campus facilities, final year students who have clinical or practical lab components to complete, students with special needs and new students for intake of 2020-21 session.
Sources:
Based on government directives, campuses have planned to re-open for teaching. Students will be allowed on campus for only urgent or essential work or support required and will follow strict measures of social distancing.
Source:
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2020/05/24/new-semester-conducted-online/
Schools are preparing to open and implement the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education. These include number of students in classrooms, screening of students and social distancing measures on campus. The Ministry of Education said that the date for re-opening of schools will be decided together with the Ministry of Health the National Security Council.
Sources:
https://www.nst.com.my/education/2020/05/594061/varsities-go-online-welcome-new-students
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/05/28/schools-at-the-ready-teachers-raring-to-go-back
Malaysian authorities are considering different strategies to contain the spread of Covid-19 once school students start being on campus after the movement order ends. This includes the possibility of reducing class size at schools. A final decision is awaited.
Source:
Travel Restrictions
Travel restrictions and quarantine requirements for international travel are in place as per before. While residents and workers are now allowed to return to Malaysia, they will have to be in quarantine for fourteen days on entry. There is a ban on tourists and foreign visitors entering Malaysia.
Source:
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/576609/guidelines-malaysians-overseas-foreigners-msia
British Council Activities
British Council staff are currently working from home. The slight relaxation of the movement control order has allowed a few selected teams to be in the office with strict social distancing measures in place.
Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my
Singapore
Updated 27 May
On 19 May 2020, the Singapore government announced a three phased approach for the relaxation of the ‘circuit-breaker’ and related social distancing measures for the post Covid-19 environment.
Phase One: safe re-opening of economic activities that do not pose a high risk of transmission such as resumption of selected services, selected health services and schools starting to re-open among others.
Phase Two: Safe transition to selected regular activities like firms and businesses re-opening, students returning to schools, sports and outdoor facilities to re-open under strict safe management practices.
Phase Three: stage for ‘new normal’: limited size gatherings, seniors allowed to resume day-to day activities under measures of social distancing among other practices of social distancing.
Details can be viewed at: https://www.gov.sg/article/post-circuit-breaker-when-can-we-move-on-to-phases-2-and-3
Educational institutions
Following government directives educational institutions shifted to home-based learning, cancelled in-person examinations and universities shifted to online assessments when the circuit breaker was introduced. As Singapore moves towards relaxation of the ‘circuit breaker’ on 1 June, there are various measures being introduced for students.
Students of higher learning will observe the following approach from 2 June onwards:
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Polytechnic Institutions: lectures will continue to be delivered online; students will be allowed on campus for only lab and practical work.
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Institutes of Technical Education: students will rotate weekly between online and on-campus learning.
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Autonomous universities: Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore University of Technology and Design students will continue with online learning and will be allowed on campus only for lab and practical work. Other autonomous universities will be on vacation at this time.
Sources:
https://www.moe.gov.sg/addressing-top-covid-19-concerns
Public events
Non-essential public gatherings remain prohibited. There is some relaxation for activities like worship, weddings with a limit to number of people being five or ten for different activities as per government rules.
Source:
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 26 May
South Korea is trying to contain sporadic group infections following the mass spread of the virus tied to Seoul's nightlife district of Itaewon, which began after the government eased social-distancing rules on 6 May.[1]
Schools
After a month of postponement of the new school year, schools in Korea restarted online teaching in mid-April. The phased re-opening of face-to-face classes is in progress from 20 May till 8 June. However, further disruption is expected, with 75 high schools were shut down again on the day of re-opening with new infection cases occur. Those schools will resume classes by 22 May.[2]
The schedule of early admission and the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) has been deferred for two weeks. It will take place on 3 December 2020 instead of late November. Other changes in the academic calendar are available here: https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/school-opening-korea-postponed-again-due-2nd-wave-of-infection
Higher Education
Most universities restarted in late March after up to four weeks of postponement, but mainly offering online courses. The exam schedule for the first semester has been postponed for about two weeks in general. The Education Ministry decided not to apply the regulation stipulating a 20% limit to remote classes delivered by universities in the 2020 spring semester.[3]
According to the Korean Council for Presidents of Private Universities (KCPPU) on 11 May, 23 out of 193 four-year universities across the nation (12 percent) had decided to reopen for face-to-face lectures. However, many of them have cancelled the decision as the Itaewon club infections surged. [4]
According to a survey carried by the National University Student Council Network (NUSCN) in Korea, almost all university students in South Korea are demanding a full or partial refund of their tuition fees for the spring semester due to the poor quality of online lectures currently underway due to the coronavirus.[5] The government has left the matter to each institution's discretion. [6]
Sources:
Korea Government’s official website for the Covid-19 http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/
[1] https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200522002251320?section=national/national
[3] http://edu.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/02/12/2020021202662.html (Korean)
[4] http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/05/12/2020051202160.html
[5] https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200421007300315?section=search
[6] https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/05/181_288527.html
Contact: Heather Eom sunhyun.eom@britishcouncil.org
Taiwan
Updated 26 May
The situation of COVID-19 in Taiwan remains positive, on Monday (25 May) loosened restrictions on visits to psychiatric wards as Taiwan has gone 44 straight days without any confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections (source). The government has maintained measures such as wearing facemasks if you are outside and on public transportation, having temperature taken for entering school buildings and campuses, those who have fevers are not allowed to enter and remain social distance of 1.5m. 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
Most public events are currently cancelled.
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.
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The National University Entry Exam of Advanced Subjects Test is continuing to happen in July, the dates changed to 3 – 5 July.
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Most of the activities on school/university campus for students before June are currently cancelled.
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Most university graduation in June is currently cancelled for further notice.
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All classes for school and university sectors remain in normal operations, all the international events and large-scale events are suspended.
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The teacher who teaches the large class at the university, the class is divided into small classes or by distance teaching.
Travel Restrictions in summary
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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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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 29 May
Thailand has extended an emergency decree imposed from 26 March to 30 June. All international inbound flights are banned until 30 June. Starting 3 May, measures have been relaxed nation-wide for 6 sectors, i.e. markets, food places (outside malls), retails, sporting venues where there are no close interactions, barber/hair salon and pet care services.
The second phase of lockdown relaxation will be effective starting from 17 May. The curfew will be from 23.00-04.00. Measures will be relaxed for stores in department stores or communities malls, such as consumption, computers, electrical appliances, bedding, building materials, furniture, office supplies, flowers, clothes, cosmetics and sport equipment; large retail shops; gym and fitness centres; hotel meeting rooms and convention halls for meetings of limited number of people; library; gallery and museum; and film crew to start production. Although these businesses can reopen, some limitation and social distancing measures from them are still expected.
The third phase of lockdown relaxation is being reviewed by the government and is expected to be effective soon.
Sources:
https://www.thairath.co.th/news/politic/1855354
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. On 8 May, the Ministry announced that it plans for the first semester to be run on 1 July – 13 November 2020, and the second semester on 1 December 2020 – 9 April 2021. This will result in 17-day and 37-day school breaks, respectively.
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Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation issued a formal letter on 17 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
Face to face English classes are suspended until 1 July 2020. The current situation for IELTS is that paper-based and computer-delivered tests are running as scheduled. We have re-designed our test layouts to ensure that test takers and staff maintain a one metre separation at all times. For more information please visit https://www.britishcouncil.or.th/en/exam/covid-19-updates
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: 26 May 2020
26 May 2020 marked the 40th consecutive day without new community affection of Covid-19 in Vietnam.
The Government has announced that the country continues to close borders to foreign tourists in a bid to prevent importation of new COVID-19 cases. Foreign investors, experts, skilled workers, business managers, officials, and Vietnamese students learning abroad are allowed to enter the nation but they must comply with the nation’s quarantine regulations.
The country has entered “new normal”, allowing the economy to restart with the aim of achieving a GDP growth rate of over 5 percent and keeping inflation under 4 percent this year.
Education
Students in all localities returned to schools and universities as normal. Final year high-school students will start registering for their graduation examination from 15th June. For specific questions relating to the Vietnam education market update, please contact Lien Ta.
Contact: Senior Education Services Manager, Lien Ta, lien.ta@britishcouncil.org.vn
Sources:
http://news.chinhphu.vn/Home/VN-continues-to-close-borders-to-foreign-tourists/20205/40129.vgp
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