The Education Ministry yesterday reaffirmed its intention to reopen schools on Nov 1 while issuing guidelines for safe classes that include requiring at least 85% of teachers and staff in red and dark red zone schools to be fully vaccinated.
Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong said schools can hold on-site classes when the second term begins on Monday, but only if they pass a readiness test and strictly comply with the reopening guidelines.
The guidelines have five core elements to ensure health safety including a Covid-19 control system called a "Sandbox Safety Zone in Schools" and for the use of buildings to organise activities such as exams.
The vaccination of teachers and staff is compulsory, the minister said.
For schools in red and dark red zone provinces to reopen, at least 85% of teachers and staff must be fully vaccinated and for schools in the other zones, at least 85% teachers and staff must have received their first shot.
Ms Treenuch insisted that vaccination is not compulsory for students but the ministry is advising parents and students to get inoculated.
"To return to on-site learning, schools must pass the Thai Stop Covid Plus [TSC+] test and report the Covid-19 situation to the ministry on a regular basis," she said.
Citing a survey by the Office of Basic Education Commission, she said about 10,000 schools plan to provide on-site classes from Nov 1 while some are opting for on-site and online learning.
However, in some areas, provincial communicable disease panels have pushed back on-site learning to Nov 15.
As for schools under the Office of Vocational Education Commission, 531 schools plan to provide both on-site and online classes. A total of 192 schools will provide online classes only while 109 others plan to fully reopen.
During the term, schools can switch to on-site or online learning depending on the Covid-19 situation, while students and staff will have to undergo rapid screening tests as part of surveillance measures, she said.
The ministry reported that as of Wednesday, 522,133 from a total of 894,000 teachers and staff had been fully vaccinated while another 260,000 had received their first shot.
It is working closely with the Public Health Ministry to speed up inoculation for those who have yet to be vaccinated.