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: Most Chinese students have now returned to in-person study, with the majority of provinces having fully re-opened
Korea: The country is facing the biggest spike of new coronavirus infections in nearly two months. The government has decided to strengthen social distancing measures in the metropolitan area over the next two weeks until 14 June.
Taiwan: Taiwan has gone over 8 straight weeks without any confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections (source). Government is planning to ease loosen social distancing and quarantine rules.
Thailand: Thailand has extended an emergency decree imposed from 26 March to 30 June.
China
Updated 12 June
Most Chinese students have now returned to in-person study, with the majority of provinces having fully re-opened
As of 12 June, all of China’s 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have now reopened at least some of their schools. All regions’ reopening process has been based on a staggered schedule, 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 most parts of China primary and secondary schools are now open for students of all ages, although some areas such as the worst-affected province of Hubei are yet to completely reopen.
After reopening, schools continue to enforce requirements such as temperature checks and hand sanitisation on arrival and mandatory mask-wearing. 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.
Higher Education
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. Universities in 23 provincial-level regions are now permitted to reopen for students in all years, while those in the remaining 8 regions - Beijing, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Hubei, Liaoning, Ningxia, Shandong and Sichuan – can teach final-year students face-to-face but are not yet permitted to reopen for students at other levels.
As with primary and secondary schools, most HE institutions have been reopening on a staggered schedule, prioritising 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.
Universities in Hubei province has also announced open for graduating students with stricter epidemic-control measures. Earlier this month, Wuhan University announced that it would allow graduating students with negative COVID-19 tests to return to campus, with the cost of the tests borne by the university. Graduating students are allowed to voluntarily return to the campus to process their school leaving procedures in two batches as most universities’ graduation season falls in June. Students must return to and leave the campus within the approved time, and those graduating students who choose not return to campus can entrust other students to process their school leaving procedures. Other non-graduating students and those in other countries haven't been approved to return yet. After returning, students are not allowed to go out of the campus and order food from outside during their stay at the university, and a dormitory room should house no more than 2 persons at the same period of time.
China’s National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) have rescheduled the College English Test (CET 4 and 6) from June 13th to two separate time slots respectively on July 11th and September 19th. This might impact graduating students, as these tests are graduation requirements for students on all degree courses.
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. 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 9 June 2020
Public Events
In respond to concerns about a growing new cluster of Covid-19 cases with the city, on 02 June, the government announced to extend the social distancing restriction for at least another 2 weeks (i.e. 18 June). It is not permitted for more eight people to gather 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.
Compulsory 14-day quarantine measure
The 14-day quarantine measure will be extended to 07 July for travellers from mainland China, Macau and Taiwan, and to 18 September for arrivals from overseas. Non-residents flying from other foreign countries are still not permitted to enter the city indefinitely.
Schools
Senior secondary students (from Form 3 to Form 5) have returned to schools since 27 May as planned; followed by the rest of younger secondary students and Primary Year 4 to Year 6 students to resume classes from yesterday (08 June). Finally, except the Early Years students, the remaining group of students will be returning to campuses by next Monday (15 June). As for international schools, all classes have resumed since 20 May.
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
This year’s HKDSE exam was taken place between 24 April - 25 May. 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
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 suspended face-to-face teaching and switched to online for the Spring Term of the 2019/20. Many final exams have been 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.
According to local universities’ announcements regarding the arrangements for the Summer Term on their websites, with the situation of Covid-19 in HK being improved gradually, some local universities set to arrange face-to-face make-up classes for the summer. Meanwhile, due to social-distancing and travel restrictions imposed by the government, they plan to arrange online teaching at the same time for the new academic year to cater for latecomers from the mainland or abroad.
Source:
British Council Operations
The British Council office in Hong Kong has partially reopened since 02 March but remains closed to the public. For the most up-to-date information on our services, please visit our websit: 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
Non-Hong Kong residents will be denied entry into HK
HK residents and valid HK visa holders must be self-isolated for 14 days after returning home
Transit flight services at Hong Kong International Airport resumed from 01 June
Sources:
Press release: Government enhances disease prevention and control measures with reference to WHO's advice, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)
Coronavirus: more Hong Kong businesses to reopen as city eases social-distancing measures, SCMP 26.05.2020
Centre for Health Protection (CHP), HKSAR
Macau
Updated 9 June
Staring from 25 March, all foreign nationals and residents of the mainland China/Hong Kong SAR/region of Taiwan who have visited any overseas countries in the past 14 days will be denied entry to Macao until further notice.
Senior and junior secondary schools resumed classes on 4 May and 11 May respectively. Primary 4 to 6 resumed classed on 25 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
Prevention of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia – Advice for Travellers, Macau SAR
Contact: Anna Lee anna.lee@britishcouncil.org.hk or Karen Hsu karen.hsu@britishcouncil.org.hk
Indonesia
Updated 12 June
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.
The government is considering options to re-open schools gradually in areas considered "green zones" -- those that have recorded zero infections or have seen a declining rate of COVID-19 transmission – but that is likely to be only for older students. One of the possible scenarios is to allow junior and senior high schools to re-open but only allow half of their students to enter the premises each day.
Source:
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
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.
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.
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 12 June
Government Response
The Malaysian government introduced the Recovery Movement Control Order from 10 June till 31 August. The RMCO allows additional relaxation of the movement control order. Inter-state travel is now allowed except for areas where there is still risk and those locations are under the Enhanced Movement Control Order. The additional relaxation for economic and business sectors is currently being allowed only under strict conditions and enforcement of stringent health standard operating procedures. Selected social activities are now allowed under strict operating procedures. Activities that pose a risk for spread of Covid-19 remain closed till further notice.
Source:
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/598700/cmco-end%C2%A0replaced-rmco-until-aug-31
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/
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/education/2020/05/594061/varsities-go-online-welcome-new-students
Schools are preparing to open and implement the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education. Form 5 and Form 6 (year 11 & 12 respectively) will commence their classes starting 24th June. Classes will be as per a staggered schedule, with operating procedures such as maximum 20 students to a class, students seated at a distance from each other and other social distancing measures in place on campus.
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/11/no-back-to-school-blues-these-days
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. However, under the RMCO inter-state travel is now allowed except for locations under the enhanced movement control order.
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 12 June
The Singapore government has 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.
Schools are in their second week now after the phased re-opening that began on 2 June. School students are following a weekly rotation schedule – some classes returning to school while others continue home-based learning. Prior to the re-opening of schools, extensive planning and preparation was undertaken to ensure that safe management measures were in place. Teachers and staff received guidance from the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) on the Covid-safe ABCs - Safe Access, Safe Behaviour, Safe Classrooms.
Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/key-focus-is-to-school-children-on-safe-measures
Source: 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 initiates relaxation of the ‘circuit breaker’ in June, there are various measures being introduced for students.
Students of higher learning will observe the following approach from June onwards:
Polytechnic Institutions: lectures will continue to be delivered online; students will be allowed on campus for only lab and practical work.
Institutes of Technical Education: students will rotate weekly between online and on-campus learning.
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 11 June
The country is facing the biggest spike of new coronavirus infections in nearly two months. Most of the newly confirmed cases were from around the metropolitan area such as Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. Of cases confirmed positive over the past two weeks as of 8 June, 8.7% were with the unknown transmission.[1] The government has decided to strengthen social distancing measures in the metropolitan area over the next two weeks until 14 June. All public multiuse facilities, including museums and theatres, will be shut down. Bars, karaoke rooms, and internet cafes in the metropolitan area were advised to refrain from operating. People were also advised to avoid unnecessary social gatherings.[2]
Schools
In the meantime, schools in Korea have completed a three-week phased physical reopening as of 8 June despite some disruptions. Some schools had to send students back home due to new infections surged in the area.[3] There has been no school infection case yet according to the Ministry of Education as of 11 June.
The key changes in academic schedules remain the same. More details 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 Ministry of Education decided not to apply the regulation stipulating a 20% limit to remote classes delivered by regular universities in the 2020 spring semester.[4]
The higher educational institutions in Korea are in a final exam dilemma: to proceed remotely with a risk of cheating or to put students' safety at risk with a face-to-face measure. Meanwhile, the student's voices for tuition refunds keep growing.[5]
Sources:
Korea Government’s official website for the Covid-19 http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/
[1] http://yna.kr/AEN20200607000953320
[4] http://edu.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2020/02/12/2020021202662.html (Korean)
[5] https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200421007300315?section=search
Contact: Heather Eom sunhyun.eom@britishcouncil.org
Taiwan
Updated 9 June
The situation of COVID-19 in Taiwan remains positive, Taiwan has gone over 8 straight weeks without any confirmed domestically transmitted COVID-19 infections (source), Taiwan from Sunday (7 June) to ease rules on without wearing masks if you are outside or on public transportation and maintaining social distance 1.5m. There are no longer any restrictions on the number of people in arts and cultural activities. Government is now planning for passenger transit. 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
Taiwan planning to loosen quarantine rules for business travelers
Government urged to help foreign students hurt by COVID-19 layoffs
Most public large events like exhibition or show are currently remained cancelled but various events and activities are ruled that the number of participants should not exceed 100, but it will still maintain temperature measures when entering the venue, alcohol spraying, and wearing masks.
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. International students travel ban and Ministry of Education will review the policy by 15 July.
The National University Entry Exam of Advanced Subjects Test is continuing to happen in July, the dates changed to 3 – 5 July.
Most of the activities on school/university campus for students after 7 June are gradually opened.
Most university graduation after 7 June will be continuing to happen.
All classes for university sectors remain in normal operations, all the international events and large-scale events are suspended.
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
All eligible passengers entering Taiwan must undergo 14 days of home quarantine
Foreign nationals are not permitted to enter Taiwan
No passengers are permitted to transit through Taiwan
Sources:
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202006090005
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202006080017
Contact: Diane Hsu, diane.hsu@britishcouncil.org.tw
Thailand
Updated 11 June
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 has been effective starting from 17 May. The curfew is now from 23.00-04.00. Measures are 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.
https://www.thairath.co.th/news/politic/1855354
Sources:
https://www.thairath.co.th/news/politic/1855354
Schools, universities and public events
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.
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
Thai universities have announced their term dates. However, some universities may still provide online learning at the beginning of the term. Term dates of other universities can be obtained from https://www.facebook.com/cuptthailand/photos/pcb.1332571403606806/1332568780273735/?type=3&theater
University | Term 1 | Term 2 | |
Chulalongkorn University | 10 August – 16 December 2020 | 18 January – 25 May 2021 | |
Chiang Mai University | 8 July – 16 November 2020 | 23 November 2020 – 5 April 2021 | |
Kasetsart University | 13 July – 23 November 2020 | 8 December 2020 – 12 April 2021 | |
King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi | 10 August – 14 December 2020 | 18 January – 28 May 2021 | |
Khon Kaen University | 27 July – 8 December 2020 | 21 December 2020 – 2 May 2021 | |
Suranaree University of Technology | 3 August – 5 November 2020 | Term 2: 23 November 2020 – 25 February 2021 | Term 3: 15 March – 24 June 2021 |
Thammasat University | 10 August – 29 November 2020 | 20 January – 20 May 2021 | |
Mahidol University | 10 August – 14 December 2020 | 4 January – 17 May 2021 | |
Prince Songkla University | 13 July – 16 November 2020 | 30 November 2020 – 5 April 2021 | |
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: 9 June
There is no major update about Covid-19 in Vietnam market, as daily life activities have come back to a “new normal”. 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