The Ministry of Education, on Wednesday, revealed that 1,500 students without internet access will be provided mobile internet dongles under assistance from UNICEF.
According to an Education Ministry spokesperson, the tablets distributed under its 'school digitization programme' lack data SIM capabilities, which negatively impact certain families unable to afford devices to utilize data connections.
The official further noted that more dongles will be acquired in the future but will see 1,500 dongles distributed during the initiative's first phase.
Following a period of closure since March 12 to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Maldives, teaching for all grades across the country resumed on July 1, except in the capital area.
Schools located in capital Male', the epicentre of Maldives' COVID-19 outbreak, only commenced teaching for grades nine to 12, while online lessons were provided for students of lower grades.
In response to a second surge of COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Education once again closed all schools in the Male' region for a two-week period on August 4. The closure was repeatedly extended following the expiry of the initial period, resuming on Sunday, October 4.
According to Minister of Education Dr Aishath Ali, schools will enforce a strict observation of social distancing within classrooms and screen students for their temperature when entering the school premises.
During last month, authorities tightened the safety measures implemented in the Greater Male' region, following an alarming upsurge of COVID-19 cases after the state initiated efforts to steer the country towards a 'new normal' with the phased easing of lockdown restrictions.
After a long period of recording over 100 daily cases, the numbers have recently fallen to two-digits for the most part of September. Within this same period, the number of recoveries saw a significant increase, bringing the number of recovered cases to 89.5 percent.
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