Phnom Penh: More of the kingdom’s schools have announced plans to reopen. The International School in Siem Reap became the first to open its doors on Monday. Koh Kong provincial authorities now say they’ll follow suit on Thursday, with Preah Sihanouk planning to open on Monday for those who are due to graduate, but it would seem these provinces and schools are jumping the gun.

There’s been no formal comment from the Ministry of Education, but it has told EAC News that there’s been no change to the original plan. That is for provinces to simply gather data as to which areas have low infection rates of Covid-19, and which schools can possibly reopen. The Ministry says it expects that information by the middle of September, and only then will decisions be made about which schools can reopen and where.

But on Monday already, the International School of Siem Reap confirmed to EAC News that they had reopened for high school students, with two days of face-to-face classes per week. Hours later, the Koh Kong Provincial Authority and Provincial Department of Education announced that some of their schools would reopen on Thursday. Preah Sihanouk has also decided to go it alone, reopening five schools next Monday. Some in Phnom Penh are also hard at work cleaning up expecting to reopen in the next couple of weeks.

While a handful of schools reopen in the coming days, the message from the Education Ministry is clear. No decisions have been made about which schools can reopen, and no decisions will be made until at least the middle of the month. It wants to see data about communities and their infection rates, before any schools, anywhere, get the green light to reopen.