SHI YU/CHINA DAILY

Ministries say epidemic control and prevention the priority for schools

Donning her school uniform and a red scarf, He Xin took part in her primary school's flag-raising ceremony, a tradition at the start of each semester, only this time she was standing in her family's living room and watching the ceremony live online, like hundreds of fellow students.

Monday was originally planned to be the start of the spring semester for middle and primary schools in Beijing. However, as part of efforts to curb the novel coronavirus pneumonia outbreak, the start of the semester has been delayed, with Monday instead marking the start of online courses being offered to students.

To facilitate the online learning activities, Xin's family, who live in Beijing's Haidian district, helped the 9-year-old register for an account on the Tencent QQ instant messaging platform to join the online chat group initiated by her teachers.

It offers the third-grader a timetable that includes morning exercise for half an hour, reading, mathematics, English and a feedback session with the teacher at the end of the day.

The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in a joint notice on Wednesday that epidemic control and prevention remained the top priority for schools nationwide.

The country will make learning resources available to primary and middle school students for free through a number of online and television channels, including cloud platforms and online schools, the notice said.

The two ministries warned that after-school training institutions must not take the place of schools during the process, saying that local authorities and schools must step up guidance to students on the selection of learning materials and the framing of study plans.