PHNOM PENH: Cambodia has decided to extend its schools' closure until the next academic year that starts in November.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said he had agreed to this following a request by the Education Ministry to ensure teachers and students were safe from Covid-19.
He stressed that students and teachers were in a vulnerable group, which could easily be affected by the virus.
He also urged the public to remain cautious about the coronavirus despite no new cases reported for 32 days in a row.
Hun Sen said a second wave of Covid-19 infections was still a concern for the nation.
According to the Phnom Penh Post, Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron had requested a delay of school reopening across the country until November, when the new academic year begins.
He said despite the relatively low number of infections in Cambodia, Covid-19 was still spreading all over the world.
In Southeast Asia alone, he said, nearly 60,000 had contracted the disease and some 2,000 had lost their lives.
Chuon Naron said Cambodia was not alone in implementing precautionary measures, including temporary school closures.
He added that the country was not ready to follow other countries that have reopened schools under certain conditions.
The Health Ministry recently said Cambodia could not rule out a second wave of infections and warned the public to remain vigilant.
Chuon Naron said the delay in reopening school was due to both political and technical aspects. Technically, he said the number of students in a classroom ranged from 50 to 60 — far beyond the World Health Organisation's guideline which recommended a maximum of 20 per class.
He cautioned that reopening schools too soon would put students at risk and could turn them into sources of infections.
"Countries that have reopened schools limit the number of students to 20 per class.
"Therefore, teachers will have to work more than one shift through actual and virtual classrooms.
"So on technical aspects, Cambodia cannot reopen schools now. Worldwide, only nine countries have declared school reopening," he said.
Cambodian Higher Education Association chairperson, Heng Vanda, which 114 schools as members said the delay was not a good option given the challenges it posed to private educational institutions.
He said schools had to pay rent for campuses and bank loans.
"If we continue the closure, they will die, not from Covid 19 but from economic constraints."