"The Myanmar government is preparing to reopen basic education schools in July and will release exam results before schools reopen, Basic Education Department Director-General U Ko Lay Win told The Irrawaddy. In Myanmar, the academic year usually starts in June and ends in March, with schools closing for summer holidays from March to June, and exam results are normally released in mid-April. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the government decided to postpone the start of the school year until July. All basic education schools from the primary to secondary level will open in July but they will open in phases, rather than simultaneously, U Ko Lay Win said. “Schools will reopen in the third week of July at the latest. The Education Ministry is doing its best to ensure a safe environment for the children,” said U Ko Lay Win. The ministry will provide free face shields and masks for students and teachers and will provide digital thermometers to schools for temperature screenings. It will also arrange washbasins in schools, apply safe distancing measures in classrooms and take other preventative measures such as creating separate morning and evening sessions for schools with large numbers of students..."