Deputy Minister of Education of the Iranian Ministry of Health: Exams at medical universities will be held in person
At the same time as students at medical universities protested against holding exams in person, the Deputy Minister of Education of the Iranian Ministry of Health emphasized in a letter that exams for all academic levels in all fields at medical universities will be held in person.
Abolfazl Bagherifard, the deputy education officer of the Iranian Ministry of Health, said the validity of virtual exams was “questionable” and stressed that holding virtual exams at medical universities had not been a good experience. The Health Ministry’s Student Union Council announced that, in response to the decision of the Ministry of Health’s deputy education officer, “individual decisions that are outside the Ministry of Health’s approval will be dealt with.”
Students also protest the dormitories operating at full capacity and disregarding health protocols. However, the Director General of Student Affairs at the Ministry of Health has said that "student attendance and adherence to health protocols are fully observed and managed, and the rate of students contracting the coronavirus is very low."
Also, with increasing concerns about the speed of the spread of Amicron in Iran and the lack of accurate statistics on cases, the secretary of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Board of the Iranian Scientific Coronavirus Committee considered the in-person reopening of schools without vaccination to be "problematic."
Abdullah Karimi said: "If we have 10 people infected with Amicron, this number could double within one and a half to three days."
Not long ago, the scientific secretary of Corona told ISNA news agency about the situation of schools in the current Corona situation that he had announced his opposition to the full reopening of schools "from the very beginning." Hamidreza Jamati considered it dangerous for students to be present in classrooms without ventilation.
On the other hand, the Deputy Director of Physical Education and Health of the General Directorate of Education of Khorasan Razavi Province says that there is a difference of opinion between the two Ministries of Health and Education regarding the absence of unvaccinated students from school or the absence of students who do not present a negative PCR test at least once a week.
Safdar Soltani said that the National Headquarters for Combating Corona has left this issue to an agreement between the two ministries, and therefore, no resolution has been issued yet.
Iranian schools have resumed their in-person activities while vaccination of children under 12 years of age has not yet begun in Iran and no information has been provided about the safety and effectiveness of domestic vaccines on children.
The vaccines intended for children in this age group are Sinopharm and Pasteurovac.
Source: Voice of America
