The Tamil Nadu government has permitted students studying in classes 10 to 12 to come to schools on a voluntary basis to seek guidance from their teachers from October 1. This is applicable for government, government-aided and private schools on the condition that the campuses are outside containment zones and students as well as teachers living in containment zones will not be allowed to visit the schools.
Schools have been permitted to call 50% of the teachers at a time to provide guidance as well.
Schools in the State have remained shut since March, when the national lockdown for COVID-19 was announced. Earlier this month, the Health Ministry had issued guidelines for the partial reopening of schools and had specified that schools were permitted to call students of classes 9 to 12 in case they needed to meet their teachers for guidance.
According to the standard operating procedures issued, the students of classes 10 to 12 shall be divided in two batches. The first batch can come to school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and the other batch on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Only 50% of students in a class will be allowed on any given day to avoid crowding. Teachers too will be required to work in two batches and can work for two days at a stretch, alternatively.
This arrangement is subject to obtaining a written consent from the parents or guardians of the students and education through online or distance mode will continue.
Physical distancing of at least 6 feet should be followed while making seating arrangements in classrooms and schools are encouraged to use outdoor spaces for conducting teacher-student interactions if the weather permits.
Before schools begin to call the students, they have been asked to disinfect their premises thoroughly. School managements have been asked to take responsibility for the upkeep of their premises and school principals should ensure that all persons on campus wear face masks. Thermal screening will have to be done compulsorily for anyone entering the school campus and an appropriate back up of items such as face masks and sanitizers should be kept available at all times.
K.R. Nandhakumar, State general secretary. Tamil Nadu nursery, primary, matriculation, higher secondary schools association, said that they welcomed the decision by the government to permit schools to ask senior students to come to the campus. “We will strictly follow the SOPs issued and ensure that physical distancing norms are followed. As the first step, we will be speaking to parents and assuring them of the arrangements schools will put in place. Consent forms will also be sent to them,” he said.