Covid-19 Pandemic Affects Start of 2020 Spring Semester
Xinhua News Agency, China’s state-run press agency, confirmed today that the Chinese Ministry of Education announced a postponement to the 2020 spring semester. This announcement comes as a result of the novel coronavirus currently impacting China, as it tries to contain the spread of the virus.
While there is no confirmed start date for the spring semester, public schools, colleges and universities have been notifying both teachers and students not to return without approval before the new semester. Furthermore, schools have been urged to draw up epidemic and control plans, and to overhaul campuses to prepare for the upcoming semester.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has impacted China’s most important festival, the Chinese Lunar New Year, when most students return home to celebrate the festivities with their families.
Stay tuned here as we update on developments affecting the academic year and employment in China’s ESL job market.
Updates:
- January 25, 2020: Chinese Cities Cancel Schools, Holiday Events (Source)
- January 30, 2020: Hong Kong schools closed until March 2, 2020 (Source)
- February 5, 2020: China’s traditional schools embrace online learning due to coronavirus (Source)
- February 12, 2020: China calls for suspending offline training amid coronavirus outbreak (Source)
- March 26, 2020: To slow virus, China bars entry to almost all foreigners (Source)
- May 1, 2020: China’s education ministry: Over 1 million college students back at school (Source)
