Advice for UK Education Institutions on Covid-19 impact in East Asia 

Summary 

At the British Council, the health and safety of all our visitors, staff and the communities in which we operate is our top priority. We support and cooperate with all local government agencies to put all necessary measures in place to ensure the continued well-being of all with whom we engage in the course of our operations.    

This post is to keep UK institutions updated on disruptions across the East Asia region caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.  

For travel advice, please refer to FCO updates, and we would encourage institutions who are considering travelling to sign up for alerts - https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. We also strongly encourage visiting local government health websites to stay abreast of the prevailing health advisory and precautionary measures in any country.  

For IELTS test arrangements as a result of Novel Coronavirus precautions, please see: https://www.ielts.org/news/2020/changes-to-ielts-test-arrangements-in-some-locations-due-to-novel-coronavirus.  

We are monitoring the situation very closely and will continue to provide updates as the situation develops. Please find current information by country/territory as per below:  

Key Updates 

China: Most Chinese universities plan to open as usual in the coming September. Over 10 million students sit the national college entrance examination (Gaokao).

Hong Kong: Social distancing curbs are tightened again after resurgence of new infection cases since 9 July. The Education Bureau has requested local schools to close from next Monday 13 July.

South Korea: The country confirms the first virus spread at school. Two key universities have decided to refund the tuition of the first semester partially.

Thailand: 1 July is the first day when schools and universities re-opened. The travel bubble plan is being reviewed by the government to welcome international tourists to Thailand in August. The plan will be done in 3 phases, starting from low-risk countries.

 

China 

Updated 14 July

Most Chinese universities plan to open as usual in the coming September and Over 10 million students sit the national college entrance examination (Gaokao) 

According to China’s Ministry of Education, 8.74 million students in China will graduate from colleges and universities this summer with 88 per cent of graduating classes of 2020 celebrating their graduation online. Although some priority students returned to campuses from April to June, the majority completed their studies online away from campus.  

Most universities announced that the start of summer holidays would be scheduled in July, typically one or two weeks later than originally planned. Despite this change and the delay of the university entrance exam (Gaokao) by one month, most universities are planning to open their campuses for all students in the coming September according to their usual schedule. A few universities have announced an earlier start from the end of August. Similar arrangements for schools are in place. Beijing Municipal Government recently announced that autumn terms for primary and secondary schools in Beijing are expected to open on 1 September as usual.  

It should be noted that international students and faculty who are currently outside of China will not be able to return to campus despite re-openings in September until the Chinese government lifts the border closure that is currently in place.  

This year’s National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) was held under strict pandemic containment measures in over 7,000 exam sites across the country. According to Ministry of Education data, a record high 10.71 million students sat the exam from 7 to 8 July, the highest number of takers since Gaokao resumed in 1977, surpassing 2008’s 10.5 million. 

China’s National Education Examinations Authority (NEEA) has rescheduled the College English Test (CET 4 and 6) from 13 June to two separate time slots on 11 July and 19 September. Some provincial-level education departments will offer tests on both of these dates, while others have chosen to only offer tests in September. This might impact graduating students, as these tests are graduation requirements for students on all degree courses.  

Comment by British Council International Education Services    

UK institutions working with Chinese partners or recruiting Chinese students should be aware of current study arrangements in the country. For TNE providers, close discussions with partners are encouraged to support preparations for reopening of campuses and continued delivery of short term solutions including online delivery where campuses remain closed.   

Sources: 

http://www.moe.gov.cn/fbh/live/2020/51974/twwd/202005/t20200512_453147.html  

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202007/06/WS5f025fbfa3108348172574b7.html 

Chinese education authorities announce flexibility on overseas distance learning recognition during epidemic period

The Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) - a body under the Ministry of Education - announced on April 3rd that it would relax its rules on the recognition of overseas distance-learning qualifications due to the current COVID-19 epidemic. 
 
The announcement expressed CSCSE's "understanding and support" of overseas universities' measures to mitigate the epidemic, including online delivery and online thesis defence, and confirmed that these measures will not affect the recognition of overseas degrees even if this results in students' overseas study duration not meeting the stated requirements for their degree to be recognised in China. 

Comment by British Council International Education Services 

CSCSE is responsible for officially accrediting overseas degrees in China, and returning overseas graduates are required to register their degrees with CSCSE to confirm their validity. 
 
The recent announcement confirms that overseas degrees will still be recognised even if universities' mitigation measures would mean that the course fails to meet CSCSE's recognition requirements (for example because students return to China and study remotely). 
 
The British Council's discussion with CSCSE confirms that this policy will apply for the whole period of epidemic controls, including newly registered students if the epidemic continues into the next academic year. 
 
However, it only applies to students who find themselves studying online as a result of their universities' COVID-19 mitigation measures. It should not be interpreted as a change in CSCSE's policy for the recognition of online delivery more broadly. 

Market support  

We are currently exploring alternative marketing and student recruitment solutions for UK institutions where on-the-ground activities in China have been affected by the outbreak.  

Two digital campaigns in China are currently open for registration: 
 
China Spring Media Campaign 
 
Post Gaokao Virtual Clearing Exhibition 

 

Hong Kong  

Updated 14 July 2020  

Public Events and Social Distancing 

Hong Kong has tightened the social distancing curbs again after resurgence of new infection cases since 09 July. The limit on the size of social gathering has scaled back from 50 to 4 people. Local bars, restaurants, entertainment venues and amusement parks e.g. Hong Kong Disneyland will also be closed until further notice. Meanwhile, four major public events such as the book fair, Hong Kong Computer & Communications Festival will also be postponed. There is no limit on how many people can congregate in private settings or at a place of work, however this means that face to face student recruitment activities are currently not feasible. 

Compulsory 14-day quarantine measure 

The 14-day quarantine measure will be extended to 07 July for travellers from mainland China, Macau and Taiwan, and to 18 September for arrivals from overseas. Non-residents flying from other foreign countries are still not permitted to enter the city indefinitely. 

Schools

Due to the surge in the number of local cases, the Education Bureau has requested local schools to close from next Monday 13 July. Previously, classes in Hong Kong were first suspended for four months from early February, with a phased resumption beginning at the end of May. International schools had finished this term and closed for Summer break since last week.  

IB Results 2020 

Despite class suspensions and cancellation of the International Baccalaureate (IB) written exams due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Hong Kong students achieved a 97.9 per cent pass rate with an average IB score of 36.31. The average score outperformed other candidates around the world by 6.41 points according to the IB office. Among 2,324 HK candidates from 33 schools, 641 of them attained 40 – 45 points, including 23 top scorers from schools such as the English Schools Foundation (ESF), the largest international school group in HK, Diocesan Boys’ School, Victoria Shanghai Academy and the German Swiss International School. Although the total number of top scorers this year was 11 fewer than last year, Hong Kong continues to be one of the main sources of IB top scorers globally with around 16% of top scorers coming from Hong Kong both this year and in 2019. 

HKDSE Exam 2020

This year’s HKDSE exam was taken place between 24 April - 25 May. The tests were originally expected to begin on 27 March but were pushed back due to surge of Covid-19 infected cases in March. The oral tests of Chinese and English Languages were also cancelled. Around 46,000 school candidates registered for this year’s DSE exam, which is 5% fewer than the total number last year. Candidates are expected to receive their results on 22 July and offers from their chosen universities (JUPAS* results) on 13 August.   

*Note: JUPAS in HK is equivalent to UCAS in the UK 

Sources:   

• Number of Hong Kong students with perfect scores in International Baccalaureate drops by nearly a third after grading system change amid pandemic, SCMP, 07.07.2020 

• Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s local infections hit daily record high, triggering return to tighter social-distancing rules, SCMP, 09.07.2020 

• Coronavirus: plan to evacuate Hong Kong housing block after 11 residents test positive for Covid-19, schools to also be suspended, SCMP, 10.07.2020 

Local Universities 

Local publicly funded universities have suspended face-to-face teaching and switched to online for the Spring Term of the 2019/20. Many final exams have been set to be conducted online. Local student unions have urged universities to ensure assessments be fair and accessible to all students, in particular, those who are from vulnerable families (given the difficulties of online learning). Some options e.g. ‘late withdrawal’ and ‘pass-fail’ options have been commonly used amongst local universities. The latter means students would not receive letter grades and have the grades to be calculated towards their overall GPA. Currently, it has been offered by the University of Hong Kong, University of Science and Technology, and Education University.  

According to local universities’ announcements regarding the arrangements for the Summer Term on their websites, with the situation of Covid-19 in HK being improved gradually, some local universities set to arrange face-to-face make-up classes for the summer. Meanwhile, due to social-distancing and travel restrictions imposed by the government, they plan to arrange online teaching at the same time for the new academic year to cater for latecomers from the mainland or abroad.  

Source: 

https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3079668/coronavirus-final-exams-loom-hong-kongs-university  

British Council Operations 

In line with the HK government’s new social-distancing rules, The British Council will be closed to the general public. For the most up-to-date information on our services, please visit our website: www.britishcouncil.hk/en/covid-19    

We are of course happy to hold meetings with the UK Education sector by means of Skype calls. 

Travel restrictions in summary

• Non-Hong Kong residents will be denied entry into HK 

• HK residents and valid HK visa holders must be self-isolated for 14 days after returning home   

• Transit flight services at Hong Kong International Airport resumed from 01 June

Sources:   

• Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s local infections hit daily record high, triggering return to tighter social-distancing rules, SCMP, 09.07.2020 

• Coronavirus: Hong Kong unveils most sweeping social-distancing rules yet as 52 new cases emerge, SCMP, 13.07.2020 

• Centre for Health Protection (CHP), HKSAR  

Macau

Updated 22 June 

Senior and junior secondary schools resumed classes on 4 May and 11 May respectively. Primary 4 to 6 resumed classed on 25 May. For resumption of classes in kindergartens, remaining primary classes and special education schools, it will be announced later in accordance with the epidemic situation.  

Staring from 25 March, all foreign nationals and residents of the mainland China/Hong Kong SAR/region of Taiwan who have visited any overseas countries in the past 14 days will be denied entry to Macao until further notice. 
 
In light of increasing infection cases of Covid-19 in Beijing, travellers who have been to Beijing in the past 14 days are required to undergo a 14-day medical observation at the designated health centres from 17 June.

Source: 

• News from Government Information Bureau , 25.05.2020 

• https://www.ssm.gov.mo/apps1/PreventCOVID-19/en.aspx#clg17458 

• Prevention of Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia – Advice for Travellers, Macau SAR  

Contact: Anna Lee anna.lee@britishcouncil.org.hk or Karen Hsu  karen.hsu@britishcouncil.org.hk  

  

Indonesia

Updated 9 July 2020

Strict social restrictions and distancing remain in place to counter the spread of Covid-19. However, the government has eased restrictions for the business sector to counter the impact of Covid-19 on the economy.   

The most significant feature is the limitation of visitors or workers to 50 percent for all re-opened sectors.  

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/09/transitional-psbb-a-deciding-chapter-for-jakartas-new-normal.html   

Schools and Universities

President Widodo has called for Indonesian universities to adopt online courses as the default mode of learning for university students as the pandemic continues to spread unabated. He addressed the Indonesia Rectors Forum and stressed the need for online teaching and learning to be adopted as a norm for the current and coming months.  

State and private universities plan to open in August and continue with classes either online or in person based on government directives closer to the dates of opening.   

Source:  https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/05/online-university-courses-to-become-next-normal-for-students-jokowi-says.html 

High School graduates will take a computer-based exam (UTBK) to secure one of the limited number of places offered at state universities in Indonesia.  The exams will be held in two batches, from July 5 to 14 and from July 20 to 29 at 74 test centres in cities across the country.  

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/vision/university-entrance-test-in-the-time-of-corona 

And https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/07/state-university-entrance-exams-held-with-strict-yet-misguided-health-protocols-in-place.html 

The Education and Culture Ministry had announced that Indonesia will allow phased re-opening of schools located in Covid-19 low-risk areas, or “green zones”, starting in July starting with senior and junior high schools to reopen before elementary and kindergartens.  

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/16/indonesia-to-allow-phased-reopening-of-schools-in-covid-19-green-zones-minister.html  

Travel requirements

The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia plans to open direct flights to Denpasar, Bali, from the United States, France and India as part of initiatives to boost the country’s tourism that has been battered by the pandemic. 

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/07/garuda-plans-to-open-direct-flights-to-bali-from-us-france-india-to-boost-tourism.html 

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP) II plans to increase the number of available flight slots and normalize its operational hours in July, as it seeks to spur the recovery of the aviation industry that has been severely impacted by the ongoing health crisis. 

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/07/07/airport-operator-to-increase-flight-slots-normalize-operational-hours.html 

There has been a significant increase in the number of passengers for domestic and international flights, after the government relaxed restrictions on air travel. A recently issued Transportation Ministry circular allowed an increase in the number of passengers to 70 percent of the aircraft capacity, up from the previous 50 percent.   

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/12/ap-ii-sees-passenger-numbers-surge-as-travel-restrictions-ease.html#:~:text=State%2Downed%20airport%20operator%20Angkasa,Transportation%20Ministry%20circular%20letter%20no  

Public events

Large scale public gatherings are not allowed. All businesses being allowed a conditional re-opening are subject to strict social distancing measures as per government requirements.  

British Council Activity

British Council staff are working from home as offices remain closed.  

Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my 

 

Japan 

Updated 10 July

Latest news

• The number of new coronavirus infections reported in Tokyo on 10 July, hit another single-day high, with 243 cases confirmed amid growing signs of a resurgence of the virus, but the government has denied they would immediately put strict measures in place 

• The Japanese Government lifted the state of emergency for Tokyo and four other prefectures on 25 May, the last remaining region in the country to be subject to restrictions.  

• On 19 June, Japan completely lifted its request for people not to travel across prefectural lines, with the move met by a return of passengers to airports and train stations. 

• As of 27 May, the Government of Japan will deny entry to Japan for any non-Japanese nationals who have been to the UK in the last 14 days, other than in exceptional circumstances. These measures also apply to people who live in Japan but are temporarily out of the country. 

• Japan has suspended its visa waiver system for anyone travelling on a British Citizen or British National (Overseas) passport until at least the end of June 2020. 

Public Events

Many large-scale events, including study abroad fairs, across the country remain cancelled. Most of the events are done online instead.

Schools and Universities 

Schools in many regions across the nation reopened from the first week of June still with staggered attendance, following the government’s lifting of the state of emergency on 25 May.     

British Council Activities

We are keen to support your continued engagement with Japan and are exploring alternative ways to profile institutions and to help you connect with prospective students and their families.  

A Predeparture Information webinar will be held in July to inform the Japanese students about current UK university status. Details hasbeen shared via this website beginning to gain attendees from all over Japan.

Contact  

Tomoko Kawakita, Head of Education, British Council Japan - tomoko.kawakita@britishcouncil.or.jp  

 

Malaysia  

Updated 10 July

Government Response

The Malaysian government introduced the Recovery Movement Control Order from 10 June till 31 August. The RMCO allows additional relaxation of the movement control order. Inter-state travel is now allowed except for areas where there is still risk and those locations are under the Enhanced Movement Control Order. The additional relaxation for economic and business sectors is currently being allowed only under strict conditions and enforcement of stringent health standard operating procedures. Selected social activities are now allowed under strict operating procedures. Activities that pose a risk for spread of Covid-19 remain closed till further notice.

Sources: 

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/598700/cmco-end%C2%A0replaced-rmco-until-aug-31

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/coronavirus-malaysia-to-ease-curbs-from-june-10-to-allow-domestic-travel-social

Public Events

The restricted movement order remains in place for large-scale events. Health authorities in Malaysia have advised against organising any events (mass gathering of 50 people and above) for six months to a year even after the period of movement restriction.  However, activities that do not draw large gatherings or close contact are now allowed under certain conditions.   

Schools and Universities

 The Ministry of Higher Education has announced that higher education institutions may re-open by October 2020. As per the Ministry’s announcement 30% of private higher education institutions can start returning to campuses July onwards. Students at public universities are now allowed to return to campuses as per a staggered plan for announced categories of students. International students coming to Malaysia now allowed to enter and join their institutions. Malaysian students who are offer holders or must sit for exams at international institutions around the world are now allowed to leave the country with due documentation for immigration purposes.  

Sources: 

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/07/08/higher-education-campuses-to-fully-reopen-in-october

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/06/26/immigration-dept-malaysian-students-permanent-residents-overseas-can-exit-c/1879166

Schools opened for Form 5 and Form 6 (year 11 & 12 respectively) on 24 June. Classes will be as per a staggered schedule, with operating procedures such as maximum 20 students to a class, students seated at a distance from each other and other social distancing measures in place on campus. The Ministry of Education released the amended school academic calendar on 23 June for the current year. There is a reduction in the number of mid-semester holidays and the year-end holidays – the calendar has been amended to support teaching and learning for the current year. 

Sources:

https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/602962/back-school 

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/23/education-ministry-releases-amended-2020-school-academic-calendar#cxrecs_s 

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/24/spm-stpm-takers-say-yes-to-shorter-school-holidays#cxrecs_s 

Travel Restrictions

The Malaysian government has announced that international students will now be allowed to enter Malaysia and resume their studies at Malaysian institutions. Malaysian offer holder students or those waiting to sit for exams at international universities can now do so provided they have the required documentation for immigration clearances.  

Source: 

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/06/26/immigration-dept-malaysian-students-permanent-residents-overseas-can-exit-c/1879166

British Council Activities

British Council staff are currently working from home. The slight relaxation of the movement control order has allowed a few selected teams to be in the office with strict social distancing measures in place.  

Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my    

 

Singapore 

Updated 9 July

Singapore is now in Phase two of the three phased approach for the relaxation of the ‘circuit-breaker’ and related social distancing measures for the post Covid-19 environment.   

Phase One: Phase 1 featured resumption of selected services and the staggered re-opening of schools. 

Phase Two: Singapore is now in Phase 2 which began on 19 June. From 29 June onwards, all students will begin attending daily face-to-face lessons. Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) will gradually increase the number of students back on campus for face-to-face learning.  
Most businesses have also resumed, although working from home is strongly encouraged wherever possible. All safe management practices remain in place. Social gatherings are permitted in groups of five. This Phase is expected to continue for 2-3 months, before the final Phase 3.   

Phase Three: Phase three will feature limited size gatherings, seniors being allowed to resume day-to day activities under measures of physical distancing among other practices of risk mitigation.  

Source:

https://www.gov.sg/article/safe-re-opening-how-singapore-will-resume-activities-after-the-circuit-breaker  

Educational institutions  

Students of higher learning are observing the following approach since June:   

• Polytechnic Institutions: lectures will continue to be delivered online; students will be allowed on campus for only lab and practical work.    

• Institutes of Technical Education:  students will rotate weekly between online and on-campus learning.   

• Autonomous universities: Singapore Institute of Technology and Singapore University of Technology and Design students will continue with online learning and will be allowed on campus only for lab and practical work.  

Sources: 

https://www.moe.gov.sg/news/press-releases/arrangements-for-schools-and-institutes-of-higher-learning-at-the-end-of-circuit-breaker 

https://www.moe.gov.sg/addressing-top-covid-19-concerns 

 Universities will re-open in August. The six autonomous Universities in Singapore have offered an additional 2000 places this year, some of which would go to Singaporean students whose overseas study plans have been disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and to polytechnic diploma holders who had intended to join the workforce, but are now opting to study because of the limited job market.  

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/2000-more-university-places-offered-this-year-amid-coronavirus-pandemic

The focus is largely on employability of new graduates who would soon be entering the workforce. The SG United Traineeship Programme aims to create up to 21,000 trainee opportunities for graduating cohorts of the ITE, polytechnics and universities. 

Source: https://www.wsg.gov.sg/SGUnitedTraineeships-Trainees.html  

The IHLs are also offering new courses and professional qualifications to boost graduates’ employability by enhancing their skills and versatility. The ITE has entered into a three-year partnership with LinkedIn to teach students how to brand and market themselves to potential employers.   

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/polys-ite-universities-to-offer-courses-to-boost-graduates-employability 

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/education/help-for-ite-students-to-market-themselves 

The US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has announced new visa restrictions for students enrolling onto university courses that would be delivered fully online. This may further impact overseas study plans for prospective international students. Current students could opt for a gap semester until face-to-face classes resume or avail the increased places in the local universities to continue their studies. 

Source: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-students-in-us-plan-for-gap-semester 

Public events

Non-essential public gatherings remain prohibited. There is some relaxation for activities like worship, weddings with a limit to number of people being five or ten for different activities as per government rules.

Source: 

https://www.moh.gov.sg/news-highlights/details/end-of-circuit-breaker-phased-approach-to-resuming-activities-safely 

The Ministry of Health in Singapore provides a regularly updated status report on the daily situation for all at  https://www.moh.gov.sg/covid-19 

Contact: Saman Imtiaz, saman.imtiaz@britishcouncil.org.my   

 

South Korea 

Updated on 9 July

The country is going through a second wave of coronavirus despite the relatively small numbers of new infections compared to the initial outbreak. It has recorded almost 13,300 infections and 290 deaths as of 9 July. It has relied on voluntary social distancing measures alongside an aggressive track, trace, and test strategy to combat the virus while avoiding a national lockdown.[1] 

Schools

Schools in Korea have completed a three-week phased physical reopening as of 8 June. Elementary and middle schools are required to cap the number of students at one-third of the total student body and high schools at two-thirds to keep students at a safe distance from each other.[2] 

The country confirms the first virus spread at school[3]. 480 schools across the country were closed to prevent the virus’s spread on 8 July, and 370 of them were in Gwangju.[4] 

Higher Education

Most universities are mainly offering online courses, while some are taking a blended approach. The Ministry of Education decided not to apply the regulation stipulating a 20% limit to regular universities' remote classes in the 2020 spring semester. 

The universities are facing the growing voices of students for tuition refunds. Konkuk University is the first private Seoul-based university that has decided to refund 8.3% of the tuition for the 1st semester by tuition cut for the 2nd semester, while Jeonbuk National University has agreed to return 10% of the tuition fee in the form of special scholarship. 

Sources:  

Korea Government’s official website for the Covid-19 http://ncov.mohw.go.kr/en/  

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-53135626 

[2] http://yna.kr/AEN20200623007500315 

[3] http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20200701000078&ACE_SEARCH=1 

[4] https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200708002053320?section=search  

Contact: Heather Eom  sunhyun.eom@britishcouncil.org 

 

Taiwan

Updated 10 July

• Taiwan reported two new imported cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus on 10 July, leaving the total number of cases at 451 since the pandemic began at the end of December, according to the Central Epidemic Command Centre (CECC) (source). 

• Taiwan from Sunday 7 June to ease rules on without wearing masks if you are outside or on public transportation, it’s better to maintaining social distance 1.5m. There are no longer any restrictions on the number of people in arts and cultural activities. For information on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Taiwan, please visit the Taiwan Centres for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov.tw/En  

Most public large events like exhibition or show are currently remained cancelled but various events and activities are ruled that the number of participants should not exceed 100, but it will still maintain temperature measures when entering the venue, alcohol spraying, and wearing masks.

Schools and Universities

The Central Epidemic Command Center announced since March that students and teachers at senior and junior high schools as well as elementary schools around Taiwan will all be prohibited from overseas travel until the end of the current semester, which is scheduled to end on July 14. International students travel ban and Ministry of Education will review the policy by 15 July.  

• This academic semester will be ended on 15 July.  

• For information on the MoE of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Taiwan, please visit the News Updates on Ministry of Education Taiwan website at https://english.moe.gov.tw/lp-117-1.html 

• The National University Entry Exam of Advanced Subjects Test is continuing to happen in July, the dates changed to 3 – 5 July.  

• Most schools and universities graduation are happening in June.  

• All classes for university sectors remain in normal operations, all the international events/exhibitions are suspended.  

• The teacher who teaches the large class at the university, the class is divided into small classes or by distance teaching.  

• Based on the Assessment by the Central Epidemic Command Centre. The Ministry of Education Prioritised the Return of Graduating Students from Low-risk Countries to the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Study in August 

Travel Restrictions in summary

• Taiwan to allow foreign nationals to apply for non-tourist entry (update) 

• All eligible passengers entering Taiwan must undergo 14 days of home quarantine 

• Foreign nationals are not permitted to enter Taiwan 

• No passengers are permitted to transit through Taiwan

Sources: 

https://english.moe.gov.tw/cp-117-24066-b99d8-1.html 

https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202006240028 

https://www.cdc.gov.tw/En 

https://english.moe.gov.tw/lp-117-1.html 

Contact: Diane Hsu, diane.hsu@britishcouncil.org.tw  

  

Thailand 

Updated 10 July

Thailand has extended an emergency decree imposed from 26 March to the end of July. Permission of international inbound flights is being reviewed by the government to welcome international tourists to Thailand in August. The plan will be done in 3 phases, starting from low-risk countries. This means the government is currently looking at border relaxation. 

Starting 1 July, the phase 5 of the lockdown easing has been effective. Measures are relaxed nation-wide for several sectors, including education institutions, although they still have to follow the government’s disease-control measures.  

Schools, universities and public events

• On 7 April 2020, with the approval from the cabinet, Ministry of Education announced schools in Thailand to defer the start of the first semester of academic year 2020 from 16 May to 1 July 2020. On 8 May, the Ministry announced that it plans for the first semester to be run on 1 July – 13 November 2020, and the second semester on 1 December 2020 – 9 April 2021. This will result in 17-day and 37-day school breaks, respectively. 

• 1 July is the first date schools and universities are reopened. The situation is being closely monitored by the government to prevent the second wave of the outbreak. 

• Key information including the term dates of key universities are on the IES site https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/east-asia-covid-19-update-%E2%80%93-26-june-2020 

British Council’s operation

Face to face English classes have been resumed since 1 July 2020. The current situation for IELTS is that paper-based and computer-delivered tests are running as scheduled. We have re-designed our test layouts to ensure that test takers and staff maintain a one metre separation at all times.  For more information please visit https://www.britishcouncil.or.th/en/exam/covid-19-updates 

The International Education Services Team is still in operation and will be able to help give advice and respond to queries from UK institutions, agents, and stakeholders. 

Contact: Uraiwan Samolee, uraiwan.samolee@britishcouncil.or.th 

 

 Vietnam  

Updated: 13 July

There is no major update about Covid-19 in Vietnam market, as daily life activities have come back to a “new normal”. For specific questions relating to the Vietnam education market update, please contact Lien Ta. 

Contact: Senior Education Services Manager, Lien Ta, lien.ta@britishcouncil.org.vn