The regional government has decided to suspend in-person instruction for students in all schools in the Region of Murcia to reduce the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
A total of 650 schools in the region, serving 265,000 students daily, will suspend classes starting next Monday and continuing until March 29, leaving families with the option of choosing whether or not to attend their school tomorrow.
Teaching activities will be suspended in nursery schools and centers offering special education, such as conservatories, language schools, and adult education centers.
Likewise, classes will also be suspended at all universities in the Region of Murcia starting Monday, March 16. This measure affects approximately 40,000 students enrolled at the University of Murcia (UMU), the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (UPCT), the Catholic University of San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM), and the National University of Distance Education (UNED).
Teaching, administrative, and service staff, and any other staff working in educational centers, may report to their workplaces. Teleworking will be encouraged whenever compatible with the continuity of educational activities, as will flexible hours, remote support for students and their families, staggered shifts, and videoconference meetings, ensuring that no more than 20 teachers are present at the school simultaneously. Administrative and service staff will be subject to regulations established by the Directorate General of Civil Service.
The center and its offices will remain open during regular hours, with at least one member of the management team present. Customer service at the office will remain unchanged, as will all administrative procedures, particularly student admissions.
SEF in-person courses
Furthermore, the Ministry of Employment, Research, and Universities has suspended, effective this afternoon, all in-person training courses and activities managed by the Regional Employment and Training Service (SEF) and taught by training entities in the Region until further notice.
Currently, the measure affects a total of 483 courses and training programs attended by 5,796 students. Those scheduled to begin during the remainder of March (157 courses with 1,884 students) are also suspended until further notice.
Day centers
Furthermore, the Murcian Institute of Social Action (IMAS), following the recommendations of the Murcian Health Service, has ordered the closure of day care centers for people with disabilities and the elderly.
The decision affects all public and private daycare centers for people with disabilities and seniors in the Region, as a preventative measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus in a vulnerable population. It will take effect next Monday to give families time to organize. The closure will last at least until the 31st and may be extended.
Technological solutions in educational centers
All educational centers will have access to a series of technological solutions offered by the General Directorate of Corporate Information Technology of the Ministry of the Presidency and Finance, so that teachers and students can continue their training. The Ministry of Education and Culture is informing the region's schools about the various options available for continuing their training, as well as recommendations for implementing them.
There are various options for student-school communication. School websites and social media platforms are available to teachers and students. The Virtual Classroom (hosted on the Educarm website) allows for the creation of work groups and for teachers to interact with students, both individually and collectively.
The educational community also has Aula 21 (hosted on the Educarm website), where teaching resources, materials, and courses specific to each course's subjects are available to teachers. For the past few days, the Regional Ministry has been working to provide this platform with additional content.
In addition to these tools from the Ministry of Education and Culture, there is the Murciaeduca Virtual Classroom based on Moodle, a widely used training platform with more than 23,000 courses. Teachers can use it to add materials and resources, create forms, perform assessments, and more. Google and Microsoft also have educational platforms that perform similar functions and can be accessed with the Murciaeduca username and password.