Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 8 July 2021
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills
Reopening of Further and Higher Education Institutions: Discussion
Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh:
That depends to a great extent on the vaccination roll-out, as well as on changes to the broader context of the public health environment. There may well still, particularly given ventilation, be limits on the capacity of rooms. In that context, we will either make the material available online or have an experience online, and-or have smaller supplementary classes. It would be "double teaching", if you like. However, it depends on the broader context. As of right now, we are not clear on that context.
Our expectation is that we will go as far as possible in making the on-campus experience meaningful. All of the other constraints around that will continue. The 19 July plans and guidelines are particularly critical to us in making those plans and being able to communicate to students accordingly. We are taking a sectoral approach to those communications. I hope that answers the question.
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