Almost 3 million students in Romania start the new school year 2021-2022 on Monday but not all return to in-person classes. Schools are open in the localities where the 14-day COVID-19 incidence rate is below six per thousand inhabitants and if this threshold is exceeded, students will move to online learning in that locality, according to Romania-Insider.
The Minister of Education Sorin Cimpeanu said students start the online classes in 12 localities where the infection rate exceeded six per thousand inhabitants on Friday. Six of them are in the county of Satu Mare, two are in Arad county, one in Teleorman, one in Sibiu, one in Salaj and one in Dolj.
The health authorities have also established a set of rules for the new school year to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19. Classrooms should be rearranged to ensure at least a one-meter distance between the desks. Wearing a protective mask is mandatory inside the school but not in the schoolyard, and the teaching staff and students should use the disinfectants provided by the school as often as possible. The classrooms should also be disinfected.
The 2021-2022 school year has 34 weeks, ending June 10, 2022. The first semester will have 14 weeks (from September 13 to December 22, 2021) and the second semester will have 20 weeks (from January 10 and June 10, 2022).
The winter break is scheduled for December 23, 2021 – January 9, 2022 and the spring break is scheduled for April 15 – May 1, 2021, while the summer break will start on June 11, 2022.