WINNIPEG -- As Manitoba students headed back to school this week, more and more people are opting to keep their kids at home.
According to information from the Manitoba government, the number of Manitobans registering for homeschooling this year has seen a notable increase compared to past years.
As of Sept. 4, the province has processed 2,197 homeschooling registrations. It has also received an additional 2,394 registrations that still need to be processed, coming to a total of 4,591.
This is noticeably higher than in the past four years, which saw 3,689 registrations for the 2019/20 school year; 3,708 for the 2018/19 school year; 3,643 for the 2017/18 school year; and 3,395 for the 2016/17 school year.
Manitoba schools reopened on Tuesday, Sept. 8 after closing down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thousands of students returned to a new learning environment, as schools take precautions to help slow the spread of COVID-19. These precautions include classrooms configured to meet physical distancing guidelines; mandatory masks for students Grades 4 to 12; and staggered lunch breaks and recesses.
On Wednesday, CTV News Winnipeg reported a Grade 7 student at Churchill High School in Winnipeg had tested positive for COVID-19.
The student was asymptomatic and wearing a mask when at the school, and the province said the risk of transmission is low.
- With files from CTV’s Charles Lefebvre.
