Instructions for Classes in Sarajevo

The Ministry of Education of Sarajevo Canton today published on its website a decision on the implementation of the educational process in all primary and secondary schools in the area of the Sarajevo Canton, which is aligned with the decisions of the Crisis Staff of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sarajevo Canton.

-  For primary schools the first shift starts at 09:00, and a school that has the possibility can implement classes starting at 08:00, taking into account the labor-law status of teachers who also work in other schools;

- For secondary schools the implementation of classes remains unchanged, i.e., the first shift starts at 09:00, and the second shift starts at 14:00, and if the school has the possibility, the start of the second shift can be organized at other times (taking into account teachers who teach in both primary and secondary schools);

- The social distance has been increased from 1.5 m to 2 m, and the distance between student seating must be at least 2 m;

- For primary and secondary schools wearing protective masks over the mouth and nose is mandatory to ensure respiratory protection indoors, while maintaining a distance of at least 2 m, as well as outdoors. Exceptions to wearing protective masks are: children under six years of age, persons who have breathing problems due to chronic diseases or who cannot remove the mask without the help of another person, such as persons with intellectual disabilities or developmental difficulties, and persons with hearing impairment.

- When organizing extended stay work it is necessary to respect the same criteria of social distance of 2 m between students, and that the distance between student seating must be at least 2 m. At the table while eating, the distance between tables must be 2 m from the edge of one table to the edge of the other, and the distance between students at the table must be at least 1 m. Students with difficulties may attend extended stay with the assistance of an assistant;

- Classes in the subject Physical and Health Education/Sport for primary and secondary schools will not take place in accordance with the Ministry's Information, number: 11-34-8297-11-1/20 of 3.9.2020, i.e., they will not be conducted in halls for Physical and Health Education/Sport. Appreciating the fact that classes in the subject Physical and Health Education/Sport are not conducted in halls, we recommend that in the teaching of the subject Physical and Health Education/Sport, content related to the acquisition of knowledge about health preservation and promotion, prevention of juvenile delinquency, prevention of drug use, promotion of general human values, content that promotes students' mental health, content related to obesity prevention, content related to the application of theoretical and motor knowledge that enables independent physical exercise for a better quality of life, with familiarization with the laws of growth and development of basic anthropological characteristics, all with the aim of preserving health and the best interest of students;

-  For students who, due to health reasons, are unable to attend classes at school, parents are obliged to submit a medical justification explaining the reason for the student's absence from classes and inform the class teacher about it. These students will be provided with content by the subject teachers via the platform for the period for which the medical justification was given;

-  Parents/guardians of students who do not want their children to attend the regular teaching process, due to chronic illnesses of the student or members of the common household or due to belonging to a risk group, retain that right and, with a statement (the Statement is in the annex of the Instructions) to the school's professional service and the class teacher/head of class/class teacher that the student attends, i.e., the class teacher, must justify the reason for attending the online teaching model. These students will be provided with content by the subject teachers via the platform during the period of attending online classes;

- It is recommended that students who attend online classes for justified reasons, in accordance with possibilities, be included as much as possible in the regular teaching process;

-  Respecting health-epidemiological measures, the school – teacher has the possibility in cases where they assess that the principle of objectivity in written assessments during the implementation of classes via the online model cannot or can hardly be achieved, to organize and implement a written knowledge test for all students in the school premises, with notification of parents/guardians and assessment of the school's professional service, all with the aim of achieving the purpose of the said activity.

"We note that all schools in the area of the Sarajevo Canton are obliged to monitor the epidemiological situation and organize all activities in a way that ensures the protection of the health of students and employees. The Ministry of Education, continuously in cooperation with the competent authorities, carefully analyzes and monitors the situation caused by the COVID-19 infection, for the purpose of possibly adopting new measures and recommendations for the conduct of the direct educational teaching process in schools," the Ministry stated.