The Udupi district administration has made all preparations for the re-opening of schools and pre-university colleges in the district on January 1, Deputy Commissioner G. Jagadeesha said on Tuesday.
Addressing presspersons in Udupi, he said that the Department of Public Instruction in the district has held extensive meetings with the stakeholders to prepare ground for re-opening of schools.
The Deputy Commissioner said that students of Class 10 and Class 12 will have regular classes from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., while students of Class 6 and Class 7 will have them from 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. And, those in Class 8 and Class 9 will have classes from 2 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Students of Class 10 and Class 12 will have regular offline classes in classrooms and students from Class 6 to Class 9 will be part of Vidyagama 2.0 which will be held on school campus in the open, in batches of students not exceeding 20, he said.
Schools have been directed to sanitise classrooms and toilets with 1% Sodium Hypochlorite solution to ensure that they don’t become a source of infection, the Deputy Commissioner said.
Chief Executive Officer of Udupi Zilla Panchyat Y. Naveen Bhat said that offline classes are voluntary and students may make use of online classes and the educational broadcast on DD Chandana as well.
Those willing to attend offline classes will have to get consent letters from their parents. Teachers have been directed to get a COVID-19 negative certificate that is not older than 72 hours from the start of classes, he said and added that this test is not compulsory for students.
Classrooms will be sanitised after each use by a batch of students. Every stakeholder on campus will have to wear a mask and teachers have been asked to wear face shields as well.
Thermal scanners requisitioned for recent gram panchayat polls will be distributed to schools to check students and teachers for temperature. No student or teacher with COVID-19-like symptoms will be allowed to enter campus, Dr. Bhat said. The Chief Executive Officer said that each school has been asked to reserve a room to isolate such students having COVID-19 symptoms. The Health Department will check such students. Such students will not be allowed to be part of offline classes till their reports clear them. All assembly and sports activities have been banned as per State government guidelines, he said.