Students at Welsh universities and colleges will not have to follow the two metre rule for social distancing from the autumn and rules around group sizes will change, meaning more in-person learning.
Education minister Jeremy Miles has said that from the autumn more in-person learning will be allowed with a "move away from the strict two metre social distancing model for university students, adult and part-time learners".
Currently, the rules require two metre social distancing in the teaching and learning environment, as well as in all public areas on campus, meaning in-person learning is limited and the majority is online. These proposed changes would allow significantly more in-person learning to happen in the autumn term.
Read more: More than 500 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours
In a written statement to Members of the Senedd, Mr Miles said: "We are planning to model the adult education contact groups on groups that will be familiar in other areas of life, modelled on more than one group of up to six, or single groups of up to 30 depending on the setting, room capacity and risk assessments in the setting, which must be in line with the requirements to take all reasonable measures. This approach would apply when the risk levels are low to moderate and we have other robust mitigations in place.
"Contact groups for adult learners will mean we can have more in person learning and this must be our priority to rebalance the harms to education and our learners. We may still see close contacts asked to self-isolate if Test Trace Protect contact tracers deem they should. We will work with our partners in the coming weeks to develop the framework and provide further detailed guidance on how these groups will work".
In a press conference on Monday he said schools would be able to decide their own covid rules.
But headteachers and unions reacted angrily.
Mr Miles said there will not be a "wholesale removal of mitigating measures" but said it would mean schools, colleges, universities and learning providers will be able to "make decisions based on the balance of harms and minimising disruption to learning - all within the wider context of a national framework and our successful vaccine programme".
