Especially, this Corona Pandemic raised a dilemma among the students, parents, and teachers about the reopening of educational institutions.
India touches the 20 lakh benchmark from 15 lakh cases in a record 9 days till August. The central government is in discussions to chalk out a plan to reopen schools from the month of September.
Guidelines include opening schools first for classes 10-12 and then for classes 6 to 9, which have been discussed with GOM for Covid-19 led by Health Minister DrHarshvardhan.
In the first phase, students of classes 10 and 12 will be asked to attend schools in September or November. If a school has four sections in any class, only two sections will attend school on alternative days.
The timings of the school will be halved from 5 to 6 hours to just 2 to 3 hours. While schools will continue to run in shifts.
Schools have been suggested to run with33% staff and student strength.
During the discussions, the secretary forewarned that the government feels it’s not best to all students of preprimary and primary classes. In such cases, online studies must continue.
The decision could be declared after the last discussion of this month. However, the final decision could be left with states on how to bring back children to schools.
Through a letter to education secretaries of all states last week, the ministry directed them to get the feedback of parents. They would want to know the schools to reopen and precaution steps they expect to be introduced in schools.
The states have submitted their assessment of when they think schools could reopen:
- Delhi – August
- Haryana – August 15
- Andhra Pradesh – September 5 (tentative)
- Karnataka- September 1
- Rajasthan – September
- Kerela – 31 August
- Assam – September 1 (tentative)
- Bihar – August 15
- Ladakh – August 31
While many smaller states with fewer corona cases are ready to reopen schools by August to September, states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are still undecided.
Delhi and Haryana have proposed to reopen schools after August 15. Jammu and Kashmir have said they will follow MHA guidelines.
Sources in Delhi government have said that even though they are glad that the number of cases have reduced.They “are not going to contemplate re-opening even till September looking at the present scenario. Any discussion on this issue within the state would only happen post September,” as per a source in the Delhi government education department.