Colégio Pedro II, from the federal education network in Rio de Janeiro, decided yesterday (2) to resume school activities on the 7th in a hybrid regime, maintaining the same model practiced until December 2021.
“Until the reassessment of the current scenario, remote teaching will be maintained, consisting of synchronous and asynchronous pedagogical activities. The face-to-face classes will aim at the pedagogical complementation organized in order to follow up/orientation”, informed the institution.
In a note, the rectory explained that the decision was due to the resurgence of the covid-19 pandemic with the emergence of the new Ômicron variant. “The new wave of the disease has put pressure on health systems again, due to the high transmissibility of the virus. The contagion rate of the current variant is three to four times higher than that of the original variant. Therefore, in the third epidemiological week of 2022, with a contagion rate (TR) equal to 1,752, Brazil had 933,452 cases, while Rio de Janeiro had 133,263.
The Superior Council of Colégio Pedro II set for the 25th of this month the re-examination of the health conditions resulting from the covid-19 pandemic to assess whether it maintains hybrid education or determines the return of classes in person.
Pedro II has 14 campuses in Rio de Janeiro, including the cities of Niterói and Duque de Caxias, as well as a Reference Center for Early Childhood Education, in Realengo, on the west side of the capital. There are, in all, around 13,000 students from kindergarten to high school and post-graduation.
The son of federal civil servant Victor Hugo de Oliveira Souza is a first-year high school student at the Duque de Caxias campus, in Baixada Fluminense. “The ideal would be for everyone to return 100% to face-to-face classes, but given the circumstances of the advancement of the new variant and based on the infection numbers in Rio, I am in favor of what was decided by the superior council that took a democratic decision. Contrary to what some say, yes, there are classes,” said Souza, who is a representative of those responsible for his son’s class.
The 19-year-old third-year high school student at the Rio downtown campus is also in favor of resuming classes in the hybrid model at this time. “This decision is consistent with the current moment. The previous decision to return in person on February 7th was taken in December, when we still did not have the Ômicron variant, when the numbers of cases by covid-19 were more controlled. It was correct to postpone the decision for a 100% face-to-face return. It is important that we protect ourselves.”
