Parental consent & staggered visits among SOPs for schools

NEW DELHI: As part of the phase-wise unlocking of activities, the ministry of health and family welfare issued standard operating procedures (SOPs) for partial reopening of secondary and senior secondary schools on Tuesday.
The preventive measures to contain spread of Covid-19 are also meant for skill or entrepreneurship training institutions, higher educational institutions conducting doctoral courses and post graduate studies.
As per the SOP for school reopening, which would be effective from September 21, 2020 students from class IX onwards would be allowed to visit schools on “voluntary basis, for taking guidance from their teachers.”
Students will be allowed to visit schools subject to written consent of their parents/ guardians and the visits and teacher–student interaction must be organised in a staggered manner. The SOP for higher education stated that entrepreneurship training has been permitted in national skill training institutes, industrial training institutes, short term training centres registered with National Skill Development Corporation or State Skill Development Missions or other ministries of Government of India or state government, National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIES BUD), Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), and their training providers.
For higher educational institutions, conducting PhD or technical and professional programmes requiring laboratory/ experimental works will be permitted by the department of higher education in consultation with the home ministry. Only schools and higher educational institutions outside containment zones shall be allowed to open.
Moreover, students, teachers and employees living in containment zones are not allowed to attend the school/ institutions and they are advised not to visit areas falling within containment zones.